Bye, Bi, Beca
by Facade Contessa
Summary: Pitch Perfect 2: After the riff off, Beca gets kicked out of the Bellas and winds up on the streets. When Pieter and Luisa of DSM find her, they let her stay with them, turning into friendships and romance. Where will this go? Especially with Beca and Luisa's growing attraction... Becommissar pairing. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Again, another random Becommissar thing I thought up. I might be obsessed... Hope it doesn't suck.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda yadda.**

_Bye, Bi, Beca_

Anyone outside at Barden University could hear emotional screaming and yelling coming from the general direction of the Bellas House. If you got near the building, you might want to cover your ears. If you went in the house . . . you'd need earplugs at _least_. And, surprisingly, most of the yelling is aimed at their captain, Beca Mitchell. And the people doing the most yelling are her best friends, Chloe Beale and Patricia "Fat Amy" Hobart. Or, were her best friends. They just returned from a surprise riff-off in "the biggest a Capella fan ever"'s basement, where they lost to the reigning World champs, the German a Capella team, Das Sound Machine. Once the champs had finished celebrating, the host had kicked them all out, and once the Bellas got back to their house, the shouting started. Beca had inadvertently revealed that she has gotten an internship at a music studio, since her dream is being a producer. The Bellas were beyond furious, one because she lied to them, and two because she isn't completely focused on being a Bella and winning Worlds. Their trust in her is breached, especially since she just admitted to them that she's gay, and has been for years. This is specifically heartbreaking and angering to Chloe, who had a major crush on her in Beca's freshman year. And once Stacie brought up Beca's accidental compliments to the blonde leader of their rival team and Beca replied honestly that she thought that the German was hot, the Bellas exploded. That was the last straw. If Aubrey had been there, she would have kicked Beca out, for a crime even worse than being Treble-boned. So, channeling her inner Aubrey and taking charge of the Bellas, that's just what Chloe did.

So now, Beca is up in her room, restraining tears as she packs as much as she can in one large bag, and one smaller bag that contains all her mixing equipment. She can't believe she thought they were her friends. No one stood up for her. She straightens, and scans the room. Not one possession of hers in sight. Then, a note is slipped under the door. Beca frowns, wiping her eyes, and picks it up, unfolding the sheet of paper.

_Dear Beca,_

_I'm so so sorry about this. If I could have had any impact on the decision, I would have done something. I would have screamed at the top of my lungs and thrown a temper tantrum worthy of a five year old if it would have changed Chloe's mind, but nothing I would have said could have made her see reason. And I wish I could be there to support you in coming out to the Bellas. But no matter what, I support you. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. I have a secret email and social media account, and if you need, I have an apartment you can use if you don't have a place to go. Please say we can stay in touch. I'm going to miss you so much. I really hope we can meet up as much as possible, since we both know the Bellas won't cooperate, they're as stubborn as they are loud. I know you hate apologies, but again, I'm so so sorry. On the hidden fold is my email and account details. Please contact me! Bi, Beca._

_Love, Cynthia-Rose_

Beca bites her lip hard to keep from crying. Her one true friend. She opens her phone and plugs in the email as a contact, and emails her.

_CR,_

_I love you so much. Of course I will keep in touch. Please keep me updated. It's okay that you didn't do anything, it's my battle to fight. And I have to choose which ones to win, and this one wasn't worth it. I still have you, and even if I have no one else, that just means that they aren't worth it. Thank you for sticking with me. If I can't find a place to stay, thank you so much for offering your apartment. I'll keep you updated on all my adventures. Thank you so much, CR. Bi to you as well._

_Love, Beca_

Beca clicks send on the email, then, taking one last breath, exits the room, and heads out into the hall. She pauses for a second outside of Cynthia Rose's door, but continues down the stairs, and without looking back, leaves the Bella house. As soon as the cold night air kisses her skin, Beca lets out a shaky breath. It hasn't really hit her yet, and she makes her way to the park, seating herself down on a nearby bench. Then, Beca finally faces that her best friends literally just kicked her out, and she has nowhere to go, unless she goes to her dad's, who hasn't been there for her since high school. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Beca finally starts to cry.

After winning the riff-off, DSM return to their Airbnb pumped on victory. Still, Luisa, in her Kommissar mode, challenges them to reflect on their performance, and also to calm down a bit. It's mostly teasing, but they disperse through the house to wind down. Luisa smiles to herself, she loves it when she can just be Luisa. DSM is like her family, they all know her hard and soft sides, Pieter Kramer especially. Well, to be fair, he's her best friend. Wanting a little air, Luisa changes out of her mesh top into a warm sweater and vest, and out of her leather pants into jeans and boots. Pieter notices her new costume, and decides to go with her, simply throwing a black DSM hoodie on over his mesh shirt and black jeans. Exchanging smiles, the two head out, letting the rest of their team know where they're going before walking off.

The two make their way to the park, chatting happily and quietly about the riff off. Part of it is Luisa laughing at Pieter since she _definitely _noticed Fat Amy give him the finger during _A Thousand Miles_ while Aran was singing. Also, them getting a little close for enemies during _Low_. But when Pieter retaliated with bringing up Luisa's _kleine maus, _she stiffened and refuses to talk while Pieter laughs at hey expression. They quiet down as they continue, feeling the air thicken. Luisa takes a few deep, soothing breaths as they stroll, and her eyes glide over the landscape, finally resting on a surprisingly occupied bench. Pieter follows her eyes, and Luisa can't help but notices the two bags next to the person, and they have their knees drawn up to their face. Almost like they're crying . . .

"Just another homeless person," Pieter says softly. "Americans and their horrible space issues. Such a horrifying situation." He tries to steer her away, but Luisa feels some sort of draw. A pull. Like she should go over there.

"They look like they're crying," Luisa murmurs. She looks over at Pieter. "Can we at least see?" Pieter nods.

"_Ja_. And I have a few bills in my pocket just in case. Let us go." They slowly approach the dark figure, but as they near, a cold feeling settles in the pit of Luisa's stomach. That figure looks familiar. Small, lean, light, pale . . . there's brown hair peeking out of a dark hood, curling around the face, obscuring it, along with jean-clad legs blocking their identity from view. Once they get close enough, they hear soft sniffling. The person is definitely crying. Then, the sleeve of the dark sweatshirt slides down their wrist, revealing pale skin, and a thin, dark twist of swirly tendril tattoos encircling their wrist. Luisa's eyes widen. She knows someone with that exact same tattoo. She inhales sharply, and walks closer, Pieter behind her, unaware of her revelation.

"_Maus_?" Luisa whispers, so softly that only Pieter hears. He looks at her for confirmation, and she whispers it again, louder. Sure enough, her head jerks up, revealing Beca, without makeup, tear tracks glittering in the lamplight trailing down her face. Luisa frowns, and moves, much quicker than before, next to the brunette. "_Kleine maus_, what happened?" Pieter follows quickly behind her, and sits on Beca's opposite side, listening with just as much concern as the blonde.

"Um, t-the Bellas kicked me out," Beca says, so softly that the Germans can just barely hear her. But they could. Luisa's heart melts, and drapes an arm around the fragile girl, pulling her into her side. Beca doesn't resist, and lets the blonde's warmth envelop her. Luisa looks down at her, asking for more explanation. "They were screaming at me, and yelling. They blamed me for losing the riff-off, and I lied to them about an internship, and they chewed me out for not focusing completely on the Bellas," Beca mumbles, voice bitter, but tinged with sadness.

Pieter and Luisa exchange glances over Beca's head. They both feel horrible for the brunette, and the Bellas are completely crazy. It's just a college a Capella group, Beca _should _be thinking about jobs. After a quick telepathic conversation, Luisa turns to look down at the short brunette, gently sitting her upright again. She squeezes the girl's hand when she notices the thin tears shimmering on her face.

"Come stay with DSM. At least for tonight. You look like you need somewhere to sleep, and we have space," Luisa offers. Beca looks hesitant, and Luisa stares at her, brown orbs meeting icy blue. "Please? I do not want anything happening to you. DSM are happy to help you."

"Even though you guys hate the Bellas?" Beca asks. Pieter chuckles.

"We do not hate the Bellas, say. Well, perhaps now we do, but before, it was just being friendly competitors. It is all about, how do you Americans say it, the Z factor?" Beca smiles slightly at that.

"The X factor. The intimidation element?" Pieter nods.

"_Ja,_ that. It is all just tactic to frighten and unnerve the competition."

"So you think the Bellas are competition?" Beca teases. Luisa rolls her eyes teasingly.

"No, but it is fun to play with them anyway." When Luisa references them like Beca's not one of them, the mood settles in around them, and Beca agrees to spend the night in Das Sound Machine's Airbnb, much to Luisa and Pieter's relief. Pieter texts DSM ahead, warning them that something happened, and that Beca is staying with them, but he doesn't know if she wants to tell them about what happened or not, so he withholds details. It's Beca's story, not his. The three walk back to their place quickly, Pieter taking Beca's suitcase, though she refuses to release her smaller bag, and when they get there, DSM is all still up, hanging out in the lounge talking. As the trio enter the room, conversation dies down, and all of them turn to Luisa, who switches to German to give briefing and instructions.

"_Everyone, this is Beca. Please be nice, she is going through some personal issues,"_ Luisa explains.

"_Like what_?" a blonde named Sarah asks. Luisa turns to Beca switching back to English.

"Is it ok if I tell them?" Beca nods silently. Luisa gives her an encouraging smile and then turns back to the group. "_The Bellas kicked her out for having outside focuses,_" Luisa explains. The people in the room immediately gain sympathetic expressions, and Luisa continues. "_She's staying with us for now, at least while we're here, so please be nice. And I promise, she isn't here as a spy. She'll stay in the downstairs office, so try not to stay up too late playing your video games down there."_ DSM echoes agreement, and Luisa smiles. "Perfect. _Maus_, Pieter and I will set up your sleeping arrangements, please make yourself at home." Luisa eyes the rest of them in a warning before she and Pieter disappear downstairs. Beca is left alone, with a handful of intimidating Germans staring at her. And she knows her hair is a mess, her face probably still has tear stains, and she's wearing an old hoodie, ripped skinny jeans, and black Doc Martens. Just great.

Aran can clearly see the short woman's discomfort, so she smiles brightly and stands up, heading over to the ex-Bella. She sticks her hand out to Beca in a symbol of peace, and says, "I'm Aran. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the brunette replies, happily noticing that Aran is exactly her height. "I'm Beca, but I think Luisa already told you that." Aran smiles, and coaxes Beca into setting down her bag, and sitting down on the couch. Beca scans the group and realizes that there are only 8 DSM members. Huh. That's weird. Beca swears there were a lot more onstage at the car show, and at the riff off. Maybe she can ask them about it later, when she's not so tired and miserable. But, she puts on a People attitude to face DSM.

Aran breaks the growing tension by turning to Beca. "So, do you have a favorite type of music, or are you one of those people that just likes everything?" she asks. Many people in DSM chuckle at her attempt, this is the first question she asks literally everyone, but Beca just shrugs.

"I generally prefer pop, but I also really like rap, hip hop, rock, oldies, dance, mostly anything with a good beat."

"Anything you particularly don't like?"

"I'm not a huge fan of reggae." Aran smiles as everyone else laughs. This girl is unintentionally after Aran's heart or something.

"Perfect. I think we'll get along splendidly."

"What internship are you doing? Luisa told us you had one," Andrew asks, piping up.

"I'm interning at a music studio. I want to be a music producer, though right now I'm just serving coffee and fetching lunches. But hey, everyone has to start somewhere, right?" Everyone laughs, and as they get deeper into their conversation, Beca get;s more and more relaxed and open. DSM also quickly learn to like Beca, she's super cool, the Bellas were nuts to throw her out like that. All of them not chatting away freely, the topic changes almost every other sentence as they probe Beca with questions, the DJ taking it in stride. When a DSM member chimes in with an inside joke, someone always explains it to Beca, who just laughs along with everyone else. Beca eventually asks how there are so few people here and so many onstage, and Aran explains that the people here are the core members, and the most important ones. All the others are backup singers and dancers that wanted in on the group. The Germans are careful to remember to speak English around Beca, well, at least until Hana accidentally slips up.

"_And do you make music on the side?_" she asks, since they were back to Beca's internship. She was saying how she wishes she got to help, but still loves music, and when the German words reach everyone's ears, the room quiets. They were hoping to include her, not remind her that they all speak a language she doesn't, and she isn't "part of their team". But Beca doesn't look fazed.

"Yeah, actually. I do mixes and mashups. Legacy inspired me to try my hand at songwriting, but I'm not as good at that. Well, at least in my opinion. I used to do a lot of sets for the Bellas, but I still do a lot of experimenting with different music and remixes. Is that what you meant?" Beca asks, completely missing the fact that the question was in German. Aran stares at her.

"Beca, do you know German?" Beca's eyes widened, realizing that the last question was in her second language. She flushes and shakes her head. She might not be ready to open the wound behind that with DSM yet.

"No. I just figured that the question was about music. I know the word music in like, five different languages, so I assumed that the question Hana asked was involving side projects with music, with my internship and all." Everyone accepts this as an answer, and Beca discreetly exhales.

She knows fluent English, of course, Spanish from middle school and high school, and Italian, Danish, and German from family. Her mother's family is almost entirely from Europe, Beca has an aunt and uncle in Italy, a cousin in Denmark, and her mom and grandparents lived in Germany. Well, until her mom moved to the US when Beca was 8. But, Beca practically grew up in Europe, mainly those three countries, so she grew up learning all of them. She also continuously visited her family throughout middle and high school and convinced them to use the native language around her, so her language skills stayed sharp. She loved learning languages, so that's where she put all of her efforts in school, along with music. But her mom died when Beca was 9. She was devastated, and that was what made Beca originally chilly and distant. She didn't want to get hurt like that again. But it still hurts, especially since her ex-current family, the Bellas, just hurt her again. Maybe she can go live with her grandparents, or some of her European family members. Her dad doesn't want her around, he practically disowned her when she decided to pursue a music career. Beca shakes herself out of her thoughts and back into the present. Where a conversation is still happening, Beca reminds herself.

She rejoins the English conversation, and then, Luisa and Pieter appear from the basement, announcing that Beca's bed is ready. "It would have been done sooner, but this one decided that it would be a good idea to challenge me to a pillow fight," Luisa grumbles. Everyone laughs, and Beca gapes at how amazing he hair is after winning a pillow fight. How is it still so flawless? But, she keeps her mouth shut.

She actually sorta know how to hold her tongue around Luisa, and she can smack talk should she need it. Sure, the first time was an accident, but Luisa seemed to enjoy it, and it made it so the Bellas were underestimated, which was Beca's goal. Well, no one else got that, so she got kicked out for it, but whatever. Beca's compliments to the hot blonde can stay in her head though.

Luisa looks over to Beca, and the brunette stands, yawning. "Thanks a bunch. I'm really tired."

"Of course, _maus_. Sleep well. Pieter brought your bag downstairs, except for the one you wouldn't let go of," Luisa says. Beca nods, heads over to Luisa and Pieter, grabs her bag, and heads towards the door to the basement.

"Thanks you guys. Night," Beca says before disappearing downstairs. Luisa lets out a breath and plops down in Beca's old seat while Pieter sprawls out on the floor.

"_What did you all think of her?_" Luisa asks, secretly curious on her teammates opinions of the short brunette. Aran smiles.

"_I like her a lot."_

Luisa smiles dryly. "_So she doesn't like reggae?"_ she deadpans, making everyone laugh. Aran just nods and smiles, very happy with herself.

"_Well, I thought she was cool,_" Andrew puts in. "_Fun to talk to, a little sassy. She seems pretty nice too. She fits in well with us._" Others echo his thoughts, adding some of their own in as well, and Luisa is very happy to have not heard one negative comment.

"_Perfect. I'm glad she's made such a good impression on you idiots,_" Luisa says, laughing when they all make noises of protest. "_I'm going to go check on her. Please stay up here._" Luisa stands and heads downstairs, taking care to make sure her footsteps are silent. Once she gets down to the carpeted den, she glances behind her to see her group following her, against her instructions. She rolls her eyes, but only makes an effort to shush them before walking over to the small attached office. There's a curtain separating the small room and the large lounging area, and Luisa brushes it aside only slightly to peek in on their guest. Then, she smiles softly.

Beca is fast asleep on the bed, curled up under the blanket. Her face is so innocent, so peaceful. It's adorable. The rest of the college kids known as DSM move the curtain aside more so they all can see, and Luisa's moment is broken. All of them smile upon seeing her, and Aran whispers, "_She really does sorta look like a mouse. A cute one, obviously, but she's so small, so adorable_." Luisa flashes Aran a look, and the brunette shrugs innocently and smirks, clearly in the know on Luisa's opinion of Beca.

Deciding to leave Beca alone, DSM head back up and retake their positions in the living room, though this time Pieter beats another male named Jasper to his seat, leaving the dark-haired man to sit on the floor. They talked for a little bit more, then eventually they all start dispersing up to their beds for the night. Eventually, Aran, Andrew, Luisa, and Pieter are the last ones, though Pieter is practically asleep in his chair.

"_I feel really bad for Beca_," Aran says.

"_Yeah, I mean, getting kicked out like that? I don't even think they knew that she didn't have a place to stay,_" Andrew mutters. Luisa nods.

"_All the more reason to destroy them at Worlds. We might even be able to get Beca on board the team," _Luisa throws out there. Andrew and Aran immediately perk up.

"_Like, as a member and singer, or just a behind the scenes member?_" Aran asks. Luisa shrugs.

"_It would be up to her, especially since we'd be performing against her old group. And I don't really know her performance sound, it is probably not the same as ours, so it'd have to be her decision,_" Luisa says, with a finality indicating that the conversation is closed. Andrew nods, yawning, and stands up.

"_I'm going to head up. I'll take this one too_," he says, chuckling as he points his thumb over at Pieter, who's snoring quietly. Luisa and Aran chuckle, and watch as Andrew picks up the male soloist and leaves the room. Aran then turns to look Luisa dead in the eye.

"_You really like her don't you?_" After attempting to look anywhere but Aran, Luisa reluctantly meets her gaze.

"_Yes. I do. I think she's special, and I've never met anyone like her before."_ Aran smiles softly, squeezing her hand encouragingly.

"_Good that you've finally admitted it. You're doing a good thing here, Luisa_. _Now, we should get to bed. Sweet dreams, Kommissar,_" Aran says, pulling Luisa to her feet. Luisa smiles at her other best friend.

"_Sweet dreams, Aran_." Then, both ladies head upstairs to their respective bedrooms, where they fall fast asleep, a certain blonde's dreams graced by a certain brunette, one that's sleeping peacefully elsewhere.

**A/N: Sorry that it's so short, not sure if I should continue this or not. I might just add another chapter and see where this goes . . . anyway, please comment and review! I love feedback! - Facade Contessa**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I got a review to continue, and there is frankly so much more that I want to happen for Beca, and between Luisa and Beca, so I'll see how much more I can do. Sorry if updates are rare, school is super busy. Hope this is as good as the first chapter!**

When Beca wakes up, she temporarily forgets where she is, and thinks she was kidnapped by aliens or something. Then, it all comes rushing back to her, the Bellas practically disowning her, CR standing with her figuratively, and DSM letting her stay for the night. Speaking of, she shouldn't overuse their hospitality any more. They already tolerated her for one night, while she was sad and mopey. She's sure they don't want her here, but just felt extremely sorry for her. She's just sure of it. So, as quietly as she can, she organizes all her stuff, changes into running clothes, and sneaks upstairs. She's fairly sure no one will be awake, since it's pretty early, and DSM work pretty hard.

Leaving the house, she shuts the door behind her and breathes i the crisp morning air. Tucking her wallet and her phone into her running armband, she tightens her ponytail and stats to jog. She's very familiar with Atlanta, almost all parts of it, so she easily navigates around the city until her stomach growls at her. Sighing, she finishes up her run, about 3 miles, not bad, and she jogs to the local Starbucks, getting breakfast and coffee. She relaxes into one of the chairs there and scrolls through her phone, following Cynthia Rose's alternate social media profiles, and checking her email, along with blocking all the other Bellas. When she finishes tying up her loose ends, she eats her breakfast sandwich as she searches through social media for DSM. As it turns out, they have a team page, and individual/personal accounts. Beca makes a split second decision and clicks on follow for the team page. That's normal, right? She holds off on any of the personal pages, she doesn't know them enough yet for that not to be kinda creepy.

Once she finishes her breakfast, she takes a nice walk back, it still being early enough that most of the people outside are joggers, dog-owners, and early birds. Beca is crossing her fingers that DSM are still sleeping. Maybe she can ask CR for her spare apartment's address later, once she figures out DSM's schedule, and promise to get out of their hair.

When she gets back to DSM's Airbnb, she quietly slips inside, hoping that no one's awake yet. Luckily, none of the Germans seem to be up, so Beca simply locks the door and slips back downstairs, doing her best to stay silent. Back in her tiny little office, she gets out her laptop and mixing equipment, plugging in her headphones so only she can hear it. She was working on a project for the Bellas when they kicked her out as a contender for Worlds, and she hates leaving her mixes unfinished. So, she opens up the file, and starts working. For the beginning of the mashup, she had wanted a clapping section, but that requires recording loops, which she doesn't want to do now, since it might wake someone up. Instead, she works on blending the two songs together, aligning the beats, and syncing the harmonies.

She gets so absorbed in her music that she doesn't hear Luisa and Pieter come downstairs, and ask quietly if she's up. Peeking behind the curtain, they see the little _maus_, sitting on her bed, fully dressed in workout clothing, slightly sweaty, headphones on, working furiously on her computer. The two Germans share soft smiles, and Pieter heads upstairs, leaving Luisa to talk to Beca. Luisa pushes the curtain aside a bit more, and walks a bit closer to the tiny brunette. Beca doesn't even notice, she's too into whatever she's working on. Luisa smiles, and lightly taps her on the shoulder. Faster than she thought was possibly, Beca whirls around to face her, surprise clear on her face as she exclaims, "Dude! Don't do that!" After identifying Luisa, and taking a few calming breaths, Beca pauses what she was doing, and slides her headphones down around her neck. "Now that you've officially scared the daylights out of me, is there something I can help you with?" Beca asks. Luisa shakes her head.

"_Nein_, I was just coming down to tell you that Sarah made breakfast. An omelet, if I'm not mistaken. We were wondering if you wanted any."

Beca shakes her head. "No, thank you. I already ate."

At this, Luisa frowns, confused. "When did you eat, _kleine maus_?"

"I went on a run this morning and stopped by a local cafe. The have the best coffee around, and they also serve all day breakfast," Beca explains, shrugging nonchalantly.

"You could have told us you were eating out. I'm sure many would have been happy to join you on your run. In fact, Andrew was begging to get out of the house this morning, but we made him take one day off."

"No, it's fine. I didn't want to bother anyone, since I got up so early," Beca tries.

"Nonsense. Andrew gets up at dawn anyway. But please, come up and at least talk with us, if you are so full you cannot eat Sarah's omelet," Luisa offers.

"No, it's fine. I have this project that I want to finish, perhaps my boss might like it better than the others." Luisa nods, a bit sad that Beca did not choose to join them, and heads back towards the den area.

"Well, once you finish your work, please come and join us. I'm sure we all would love your company while we eat." And with that, Luisa disappears upstairs, respectfully closing the curtain behind her.

Beca shakes her head. Luisa is just being nice, Beca knows. They don't actually want her here, they're just feeling obliged to invite her since she's here, and basically homeless. It's a pity invite, and Beca hates those. Shaking her head, she slides her headphones back over her hears, and lets herself once again get immersed in the music.

Over the course of the day, DSM don't see Beca. The only people that saw her to confirm that she's alive were Pieter and Luisa, when they checked in one her that morning. Since then, no one has went in or out of the basement. They're all confused as to why Beca's just hiding down there, she could do her work just fine up here. At least they get some sense that she's still there by occasional various clapping noises. Much to their dismay, their place is very receptive to sounds, so they can all hear whatever is happening in all rooms of the house practically at all times. Conversation can get a bit fuzzy, but it's very annoying when people are trying to sleep.

But Das Sound Machine are starting to worry about Beca. It's not good to be holed up in the tiny office all day, even if she went for a run in the morning, which Andrew is still complaining about ("Why does she get to run and I don't?"). So, Luisa, Aran, and Hana all go downstairs to check in on her, especially since Jasper is making dinner, and he is surprisingly a very good chef.

Once they're downstairs, they listen for any sign that Beca is upset or injured. When they come up with nothing, they move closer, and Aran knocks on the wall next to the curtain. "Hey, Beca? Are you alive in there?" After a little bit of shuffling and bumping noises, Beca's head pops out from the curtain.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What's up?" The girls all exchange looks.

"Well, Jasper is making his famous _sauerbraten_, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us," Aran says. All the girls see a confusing flash of disappointment on the ex-Bella's face before she shrugs.

"It's fine, I can just order something, or go out and grab a bite," Beca says. Luisa frowns.

"_Mäuschen_, do not misunderstand, we want you to join us," Luisa says. Beca looks down at the floor.

"No, it's fine, I don;t want to be a bother or anything."

"No, _kleine maus_, _nein_. You are anything but a bother. We want you to be here, and many of us were worried about you. I assure you that you are not abusing our hospitality, we truly are glad you are here, understood?" Beca nods, a small smile appearing on her face, warming Luisa's heart.

"Well, I guess I can go upstairs for _sauerbraten_," Beca mumbles, making Aran and Hana cheer. Luisa smiles.

"Good. Because Jasper's is some of the best. Have you had it before?" Luisa asks as they move towards the stairs. Beca nods slightly.

"My mom made it for me on holidays." Beca seemed to quiet with that, and all of them can sense a deeper story, but they restrain themselves, not wanting Beca to close off again, like she seems to want to do. When they enter the living room, Andrew, Pieter, another DSM man named Finn, and Sarah all cheer when they see Beca.

"So you got the troll out of her cave I see," Pieter says jokingly. Beca scoffs.

"Well, being a troll is better than being a giant always hitting his head on things," Beca quips, sitting down next to Aran on the sofa.

"I know right?" the dark-haired girl says, high fiving Beca. The DJ grins and returns the gesture, happy that not all of the DSM Germans are as tall as Luisa and Pieter.

"Ah, feisty mouse has returned," Pieter says. "I must say, I prefer feisty mouse to quiet mouse. Much more fun to talk to." Luisa rolls her eyes.

"Ignore Pieter. He gives a horrible first impression," Luisa says. Beca quirks on eyebrow.

"And you don't?" she challenges. Clearing her throat, Beca tries to imitate her accent, to moderate success. "Barden Bellas, you are so tiny," Beca quotes, remembering DSM and the Bellas' first interaction. To her delight, Luisa flushes slightly at that before regaining her composure.

"That was purely the fact that we were competitors, and we wanted to unnerve you," Luisa defends.

"Yeah right, that was just for fun. You already did that with your performance of that Muse song at the auto show," Beca retorts. Luisa smiles.

"Yes. That was a fun performance. Though, I remember you being much more flustered at our appearance," Luisa notes. Aran and Hana nod, remembering Beca's awkwardness around them. Beca smirks.

"That was just a plan to make you guys think we were inferior, and then we were going to kick your ass at Worlds. But it doesn't matter now," Beca says. Luisa cocks a suspicious eyebrow.

"You are sure those endearing compliments were on purpose?" she says, surprised that this girl could be so good at acting. Beca flushes slightly.

"Well, the first one was accidental. But then I just kept playing along. The others didn't get what I was doing, but whatever." Luisa nods her head in understanding, and Beca continues to secretly fidget with her necklace.

It's just a simple silver chain with a single pendant, a smooth teardrop shape, one she keeps tucked under her shirt at all times. It's actually a discrete locket, and inside are two pictures, one of her mom, and one of the two of them together when Beca was little. Her mom gave it to her right before she died, and Beca treasures it above many of her other possessions.

"So, what have you been working on all day?" Sarah asks, hoping that she isn't overstepping any boundaries. It must have been a bit personal, because Beca just shrugs, avoiding the question.

"Random things. What have you guys done today?"

People say quick sentences about their day, and Beca nods along. She didn't want to tell DSM what she was doing, she doesn't want them getting the wrong idea. Or, maybe she doesn't want them to hear what she does, because it'll probably suck and they'll laugh at her or pity her. Either or.

Then, Jasper calls that dinner is ready, and everyone readily gets up and heads towards the dining room, where plates of steaming pot roast and potatoes are set out, enough for everyone. All nine of them sit down around the table, and dig in immediately, many compliments to Jasper following the first bites.

It's quiet again until Aran, hating the awkward silence, pipes up with a question for Luisa about their tour. Which, in turn, makes Beca speak up. "So, Luisa, are we sticking with the same set as the auto show for the rest of our tour?" Aran asks. Luisa opens her mouth to answer, but Beca cuts her off.

"You mean the tour that you stole from the Bellas," Beca says on instinct as she takes a bite. Luisa raises an eyebrow.

"You practically gave it to us, _kleine maus_."

"Yes, we really have you to thank. Well, Flabby Abby's baby chute, that is," Pieter quips, making many people laugh, but Beca rolls her eyes. Pieter grins. Another person besides Luisa to start an eye roll count for.

Pieter likes to count how many times Luisa rolls her eyes at him, and currently, she's at 6,967,340, over the course of the 12 years that they've known each other. But, Pieter gets the feeling that even knowing Beca for a little will have her rivalling Luisa's total. She really seems like the type.

"Gross, Pieter. And yes, that was a very good set, we'll use that one unless we come up with something better, or if the situation calls for something else," Luisa says, an authoritative tone in her voice. Beca snorts quietly, and keeps eating, her food almost gone. But, Luisa heard her. "Do you have a comment, little mouse?"

Beca innocently shakes her head, but Luisa lifts an eyebrow, challenging her to repeat her thoughts. "You're going to perform a military-style Muse song at the Puppy Bowl?" Beca asks incredulously, trying but failing restraining her laughter at picturing that scene. Many others chuckle too, but Luisa glares at them to be quiet.

"Likely not. We will have to, how do you Americans say, pull something out of oxygen to perform then, _ja_?" Beca chuckles.

"The phrase is 'pull something out of thin air'. It's generally used when you're desperate, which isn't the vibe I'm getting from this situation," Beca retorts sassily. "I just can't wait for that to be broadcasted live. I'm so going to watch that."

"Good luck, troll. You will likely not be able to comprehend our amazingness over television," Pieter drawls. Beca rolls her eyes.

"Ok, even tiny mouse is better than troll," she complains. "And I'm not that short. Hell, Aran is the same height as I am!" she exclaims.

"It is just a joke, _maus._ Pieter takes his title as the comic relief very seriously," Luisa says, stifling laughter at the brunette's feistiness.

"Well, he won't have the title for much longer if all he can think of are short jokes," Beca snaps. Turning to Pieter, she says, "If you like your title as comic relief, find something another well to draw from than just my height." With a huff, Beca slumps in her seat, declaring herself done with this conversation. Luisa and the rest of DSM laugh as Pieter's expression turns into one of horror. Then, the blonde lays a hand on Beca's shoulder.

"We do not mean to upset you, _maus_. We all have nicknames as well. We do not mean to offend you."

Beca shrugs, sitting up a bit straighter. "It's fine. Just lay off the short jokes. Believe me, I've heard all of them and they're not funny." Pieter makes a noise of disagreement, but Hana slaps his arm, and Beca is pretty sure Lisa kicked him under the table.

"Ouch!" Pieter exclaims. "That was very uncalled for!" Luisa shrugs innocently and Hana grins. They all finish up their meal, and Luisa and Pieter clear the table to do the dishes while the rest of the team move to the living room, continuing talking like they've known each other all their lives.

They talk about basically everything, until Andrew asks about the Bellas. None of them really knew about the Bellas until the tour offer, and many are curious about them performing, since they've been national champions for three years now. Some of them worry about this being a hard topic for Beca, but she talks like nothing's wrong, which they all admire. Even Luisa and Pieter, overhearing everything from the kitchen are impressed. But, Beca gives them the run down on her story with the Bellas.

"So, beginning of my freshman year of college, I wanted to be a music producer, but my parents made me go to college first. So, at the activities fair at the beginning of the year, the Bellas had a tent, but the previous year, one of the girls, Aubrey, hurled all over the stage during her solo, so they were kinda the laughing stock of the school."

"Land of the rising lunch?" Pieter yells from the kitchen. Everyone cracks up, and Beca takes a few breaths before continuing.

"Well, I accidentally stumbled on the tent, and Aubrey was there as the new captain, along with Chloe-"

"The redhead who cut me off at the riff off?" Aran asks. Beca nods.

"Yeah, her. Well, they tried to convince me to join, but I had told them I couldn't sing, and then I left. I got an internship at the local radio station, where it was just me, the DJ Luke, and this ridiculous boy named Jesse. He's a total dork."

"Was there anything going on between you and Jesse?" Sarah asks. Everyone sighs, Sarah lives for relationship drama.

"Sorta, we dated for a year, then called it quits since we were more like brother and sister than BF:GF. But moving on. This is the weird part of the story, believe it or not but it might actually be the sanest thing that happened. I was taking a shower one day, and Chloe walked in on me since I was singing to myself. She-"

"What song was it?" Pieter asks as he enters the room. Beca rolls her eyes, and Pieter grins. He's already at like, five for her.

"Titanium, by David Guetta. Moving on. Anyway, she was all like, 'you can sing!', and I'm basically trying to get her out, since both of us are completely naked, and then she refuses to leave until I sing. And that's after the whole "lady jam" conversation." Beca shudders at the thought, and most of DSM get what that means and leave it at that. Luisa can't help but feel a tad bit jealous at the redhead for seeing Beca naked. Then, she violently shoves those thoughts out of her mind. Not the time. "But, I sang the chorus an she harmonized, and she basically made me try out for the Bellas. Apparently there was an audition song that everyone was supposed to learn, but I didn't know that, so I did an impromptu solo a Capella number. I-"

"What song?" Pieter asks again. Beca groans, rolling her eyes once more.

"What is it with you and interrupting for unimportant details?" she complains, making the Germans laugh. "It was the cup song." Pieter cocks his head.

"What is the cup song?" Beca looks around, and no one seems to know what she means, so she sighs, standing up.

"I'll show you." She heads into the kitchen, and after a minute or two of digging around, she produces a plastic cup. She takes her seat again, sitting on the edge of the sofa so she can reach the coffee table. "In the audition, I did this sitting on the floor, but it's easier like this." Moving some things out of the way, Beca then, like she did years ago, does the first pattern of the cup tapping, and on the second one, she sings along.

_I got my ticket for the long way round_

_Two bottles of whiskey for the way_

_And I sure would like some sweet company_

_And I'm leaving tomorrow, what d'ya say_

_When I'm gone_

_When I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me by my hair_

_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

She finishes the last beats of the cup, and then the room is silent for a few precious seconds before DSM burst out in applause. "Beca, that was amazing!" Aran compliments. Beca snorts.

"Coming from the four-time world champions. Yeah right. Like this is anything near your guys' level."

"It's not the same, _maus_. This is a different type of performance, one that, admittedly, we do not know how to do quite as well. Our performance and yours cannot be directly compared."

"Now I know that's just fancy speak to confuse me," Beca complains. "Whatever, continue with the story?"

"Wait, I want to see more performances. I'm sure you have a lot of them," Andrew adds. "Are they published anywhere?" Beca rolls her eyes.

"Ask John and Gail. Their 'Let's Talk-Apella' show practically stalks the Bellas," Beca says. "And they're likely on YouTube."

"Than let's go see!" Aran cheers.

"No, wait-" Beca tries, but DSM is already moving downstairs to the basement. "Great." she mutters. With a sigh, she follows them downstairs, where they are opening up YouTube on the TV. "Let me find them." Plugging a few things into the search bar, she sighs when all of her freshman year Bellas performances pop up.

"I want to see the Pool Mashup!" Finn calls out.

"I want the Finals!" Hana argues.

"Guys!" Beca yells, getting the Germans to quiet down. "I'll show all of them, in order, with the story. Sound good?" They all nod and get comfortable, while Beca starts to tell the story, while clicking on the next performance. "I got into the Bellas, and then Aubrey had us under a practically military-style training, while rehearsing the same set list as they did before. Which I refuse to watch again. Let's just say it was boring, dated, and we looked like flight attendants." Many people groan, but Beca glares at them and they stop. "Before that, actually, there was my first riff off. It was in an empty outdoor pool, and it was just the school, Barden, teams competing. The BU Harmonics, the do basically all Madonna, the Bellas, the Treblemakers, an all boy group, and the High Notes, self-explanatory. So, here's this." Then, Beca clicks play, and footage from her first riff-off plays, and in surprisingly high definition, the groups battle it out. As it plays, Beca starts to flash back to that time, when she was still distant and uncaring, before she got to know the Bellas…

**A/N: I'm planning a flashback next, but I don't really think I should go all the way through Pitch Perfect 1. It seems out of place. I love ideas and comments, please review! If there's anything you want to see, let me know! - Facade Contessa**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter has a lot of Beca flashbacks to the first movie. Hopefully they work. Enjoy Chapter 3!**

_Shivering slightly from the cool breeze, Beca follows the Bellas down into the empty pool, where the other Barden a Capella teams are anxiously awaiting the start of the riff off. Jesse had explained what it was to her earlier, but Beca still didn't quite get it. Well, good thing she's a quick learner. Aubrey has all the girls circle up once they take their spots, and they have a brief meeting, where the blonde Captain attempts to explain how this should work. It doesn't get very far, since many of the girls interrupt her, but Chloe soothes the temperamental blonde just as the BU Harmonics start making siren sounds, signalling the start of the riff off. _

"_Welcome to the riff off!" the host, Justin, calls, and all of the other teams and observers cheer. "Who's ready to get vocal?" Everyone cheers, and Aubrey rubs her hands together, readying herself to win. Then, Justin launches into an explanation of the riff off prize. Beca, unsure of what to do with herself, leans up against the wall, eyes finding Jesse, the only other person she knows here. _

"_I'm taking you down," he mouths to her, pointing to the ground in an attempt to intimidate her. _

_Beca merely shrugs and smirks. "I don't care," she mouths back. _

_Jesse nods. "I know," he returns silently. _

"_And our first category is…" Justin says, holding up his projector wheel, each section with a different category. Aubrey bounces up and down slightly, hoping for a good one. "Ladies of the 80's!" Many people cheer, especially the BU Harmonics. Which makes sense, since Beca was told that they love their Madonna. But this is a pretty good category. _

_Aubrey gets an idea and rushes forwards, but Bumper and the Trebles beat her to it, doing a stomp/clap pattern shaping the beat of Toni Basil's _Hey Mickey_. Aubrey makes a disgusted face and rejoins the Bellas. The other Trebles join in, and Beca grins in disbelief. This is kinda ridiculous. But, they continue, and it doesn't sound too bad. Soon enough, the Trebles get cut off by Barb and the BU Harmonics with, of course, Madonna's _Like a Virgin_. Aubrey, seeing her chance, holds up her hands to the Bellas. _

"_Watch and learn," she tells them before striding forward, cutting off the dancing Harmonics with _Hit Me With Your Best Shot _by Pat Benatar. The rest of the Bellas catch on quickly, harmonizing with her and providing backing. They're going strong until one of the High Notes attempts to cut them off with Roxette's _It Must Have Been Love_. _

"_The negative side effects of medical marijuana, kids. You are," Justin starts. _

"_Cut off!" Everyone says together. She just smiles lazily and rejoins her team. As they head back to their spot, Beca turns to Chloe._

"_So, we just pick any song that works?" she asks, getting an idea. Chloe smiles and nods. _

"_Yeah."_

"_And you just...go with it?" Beca confirms. Chloe nods once again, and, with that in mind, Beca takes her spot behind Fat Amy, who's gearing up for the next round. _

_Justin picks a new category on his wheel of topics, and then turns to everyone. "And our next category is…" Someone from the Treblemakers lets out a loud cheer, and then Justin finishes. "Songs about sex." _

_Many people cheer, and Stacie gasps, completely ready for this category. "Sex?" Aubrey says to herself. Beca almost snorts, of course Aubrey would have trouble with this topic. Basically the easiest topic in music. So many songs are laced with innuendos or sex metaphors, and many just say it outright. But this put an idea for a song in Beca's head. One that she hopes she can use…_

_Beca notices Donald, the Trebles rapper, start to head forward, but Cynthia Rose beats him to it, poking out of the group singing Rihanna's _S&M. _The Bellas chime in quickly, and Stacie takes second lead, joining CR in the front, along with some slightly provocative dancing. The rest of the Bellas are a bit behind, but dancing along to themselves, Beca much more active this time around. _

_Then, Donald cuts them off with _Let's Talk About Sex_, by Salt n' Pepa, and Cynthia Rose rejoins the group, but, undaunted, Stacie stays up there, facing off with him as more and more Trebles join him to back him up, until Aubrey pulls her back to the group. Stacie stops her, saying that she has one, and then heads back to the center of the pool, cutting them off with Boyz 11 Men's _I'll Make Love To You_. Amy just starts to sing harmony when Jess strides forward, cutting the two girls off. _

_Beca raises her eyebrows incredulously as Jesse starts to sing _Feels Like The First Time_, by Foreigner. Seriously? As soon as he does so, the Bellas groan, not having another song directly on hand. Stacie scoffs at him and heads back to the Bellas, but Jesse just grins, especially when the other Treblemakers start to sing backup. He points to Beca, back against the side of the pool, and she raises her eyebrows, attempting to mask her amused smile. She gives him a playful eye roll as the backup starts to build, and the Trebles join him in the center. Beca takes a few steps forwards as Jesse starts to move happily to the beat that the others are providing, snapping along as well. Beca playfully blows him a kiss, and he seems to not get the sarcasm, or he ignores it, because he opens his jacket, leaning back in victory, only straightening to keep his balance. He pops his jacket back on, and Beca smirks, then looks around at her team, who seem to be stumped. Well, she's not going to let Jesse win that easily, especially since the BU Harmonics are no help. _

_While her teammates are still planning, trying to think of a song, Beca runs forward, cutting him off, launching into a fast-paced rap part from Blackstreet's _No Diggity_. While she's rapping, Beca's is the only voice audible, no one knows how to react, and apparently none of the other Bellas know this song, or at least this part, because Beca is completely a Capella. No backing, no beat, nothing. Many of the Bellas give gasps of awe, none of them knew Beca could do this. Which included a dropped jaw from Chloe. And she grins, glancing around, hoping someone knows this song, and Jesse smiles at her, impressed, stepping back to give her space. When she pauses, she turns and sees Amy mouthing something, what, she has no idea. Turning back to the Trebles, Jesse nods in amazement and wonder._

"_Keep going," he encourages. Giving her team one last chance, Beca looks back, but no one speaks, so she starts to sing the more familiar chorus, eliciting many cheers and whoops from the crowd. Fat Amy is the first to join in, then more and more Bellas join Beca in the center, providing backup for the chorus. Even the Treblemakers are impressed by Beca's rapping and quick thinking. Aubrey is in the back, unsure how to join in, since she doesn't know this song. Beca finally gets into the beat, moving a little bit, Jesse's eyes trained on her, nodding along as well. Soon, the BU Harmonics join in, along with the crowd on the 'hey yo's, and Beca laughs a bit, circling around her group to see everyone, while keeping up the song. She fits finally in the middle of the group, and leaves with a sassy exit, very cocky at their prospective win. _

_None of the Trebles look too happy at the likely loss, and Beca grins, especially when Jesse has the gentlemanliness to clap for her when none of the other Trebles did. "I mean you're welcome," Beca says as the Bellas cheer. And even though they lost on a technicality, Beca, and all the Bellas save Aubrey, left the pool feeling like winners._

Beca snaps back to reality when the video cuts out, and all of DSM are applauding. She flushes, and sinks further into the couch, not really needing any sort of praise from the clearly superior group. The Bellas take a lot of things lightly, being very emotional and dramatic about it. DSM, they focus on their goal, and achieve it. Not necessarily Beca's style, she's much more unconventional, but admirable nonetheless.

Luisa is still staring at the screen. Beca was rapping. In a song about sex. And damn, if that isn't the hottest, sexiest thing Luisa's ever seen. The little mouse rapping does things to Luisa that she won't even go in to. But she can't help but wonder if there are any other videos of Beca rapping…

Beca takes a deep breath as everyone looks at her, anxious for her to continue her story. "Well, that happened, and Aubrey was pissed, we all had homework to mentally review the riff off and find all of our mistakes."

"Yikes," Andrew says. Beca nods.

"Yeah. Then it was time for Regionals, and as we were filling up our gas tank on our bus, Amy got hit by a burrito thrown by a Treble, so the tank never got filled. But, on the way while we still had gas left, we sang Party in the USA. That was fun. But we had to ride with the Trebles for the remainder of the way, which was super awkward. We did Regionals, and barely made it, along with the Trebles, but on our next competition, I mixed in some of _Bulletproof_, we lost, and everyone got super mad at me, and I quit. But, one of the teams that beat us got disqualified, so we were back in the game. In the end, we made up, and Aubrey gave me the pitch pipe, and we practiced a mashup I made on the spot at the old pool, actually, as preparation for Lincoln Center, where our finals were. And...here's the mashup." Beca clicks on another video, and it starts off with the Bellas walking down into the pool again, this time with Beca in the lead…

"_Alright, let's remix this business," Beca says as they reach the center of the pool. The Bellas group together, and Beca stands in front of them. "Um, Aubrey, would you pick a song for us, please?" Beca asks, needing a song to work with. Hopefully, Aubrey picks well._

"_Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are." Aubrey nods encouragingly at Beca, pleading with her to use this one, so they can encourage the team. Beca smiles at her, and then turns to Chloe._

"_Ok! Um, Chloe, are you ok to take the lead?" The redhead nods, and Beca hopes that she's not pushing Chloe, with her vocal cord surgery an all that. Then, thinking for a second on which song she'll use to mash this one up with, she starts to move her hand in a small conducting pattern, to keep the girls on the beat. She starts off with a high section of doo wops, and Aubrey quickly joins her, the other girls adding backup one by one. Beca checks with Chloe once more, motioning for her to start, and the redhead nods and begins to sing. When Chloe reaches the second verse, Beca points to Chloe, signalling her to keep going, and then changes what she's singing, instead singing the chorus of Nelly's _Just a Dream_. The songs for seamlessly together, and all of the girls grin, especially Beca. This was her chance to prove herself as a leader and partly as a musician, and it sounds amazing. When Beca reaches the bridge and Chloe reaches the chorus, Beca grins and points at Aubrey to join her, and the blonde does, happy that Beca is being such a good and inclusive leader. _

_They repeat the bridge and chorus again, chiming in for a stronger beat with a stomp/clap pattern until they, with Beca's direction, fade out. There's a short silence, and Beca holds her breath, looking at Aubrey for confirmation. Then, Aubrey beams at Beca. "Hands in," she says. All of the girls smile and gather up, counting to two then lifting their hands, singing 'ah'. Many of them are thrilled for finally getting their cheer right, and they're harmonizing beautifully, except Chloe's voice goes extremely deep all of a sudden._

"_What was that?" Fat Amy asks her. _

_Chloe covers her mouth in surprise. "I don't know. I've never made that sound before," she responds honestly, touching her throat as to make sure that was really her._

"_Y'know, with your messed up vocal cords, you can hit the bass notes," Cynthia Rose suggests. _

"_Do you know what that means?" Aubrey asks all of them, voice filled with excitement. Then, Lilly raises her hand. "Yes, Lilly?" Aubrey says. Everyone leans closer, expecting her voice to be as soft as it normally is. _

"_I think I have something that can help us out," she says. They all jump back in surprise when the can all hear the petite girl, and at a normal volume. Many of them are laughing or grinning, and Fat Amy is, well, Fat Amy. _

"_Woah, bitch, no need to shout," the blonde retorts. All of the girls laugh, and they all gather in for a group hug. _

When the screen fades to black again, Beca glances around to see most of the others wiping their eyes, or smiling at Amy's last comment. "That was beautiful," Hana says. Beca smiles, unsure how to respond.

"Thanks."

"You have real talent, you know that?" Pieter says, surprising everyone. "Your ear for beats and harmonies is incredible. I think I can safely say that I've never met anyone with your level of arranging and musical production abilities." Everyone nods, agreeing with him, and Beca feels small tears well up in her eyes, but she blinks them back.

"Thanks you guys. That means a lot."

"On with the story?" Finn suggests, not sure how to proceed. Everyone bursts into laughter, and Beca nods.

"On with the story. There's not much left, you know. Only one more video, actually. And that's our Finals. So, after that, we just went to Finals. Well after a few weeks of military-style boot camp, lots of vocal practice, and tons of choreography rehearsals, then we had finals. I did most of the choreo, along with Chloe and Aubrey, and I made the mix that we used for the performance and...here it is."

Beca plays the final video, mouthing along the words as she goes, remembering her first finals, and how amazing it was…

_The Bellas all get their microphones and file onstage, taking their places. Instead of their old flight attendant uniforms, all of them are different, and much more modern, though everyone still has their Bella handkerchief. Most are now tied around wrists, though Aubrey's is still around her neck, and Lilly's is tied around her microphone. Beca is very happy about the new costumes, most of them are stretchy but tight pants and form-fitting tops, though still allowing movement, and in a variety of colors, though along the black, white, blue and yellow Bellas color scheme. Their shoes are all the same though, black heeled high tops, which Beca couldn't be happier about. Beca, positioned in back for the first part, scans the group to make sure everyone's in the right place, and then blows the tuning note on the pitch pipe. She counts them off, and everyone harmonizes while Aubrey and Chloe start singing a slowed-down version of _Price Tag _by Jessie J. _

_The girls all harmonize beautifully, and Chloe and Aubrey's voices shine clear through everyone else's. They all nail the in-sync hand motions and steps, and they can feel the audience hold their breath as they go silent for a few dramatic seconds. _

_Then, Lilly breaks the silence with a half beat-box, half rap line, and they launch into a faster version of _Price Tag_, and everyone in the audience cheers loudly. Lilly provides a sturdy beat, and Cynthia Rose starts with the lead, while the others all do in-sync dance moves, much more modern than any of the old ones, eliciting cheers from the audience. They set up their lights to simply flash, highlighting the girl's choreo and look. _

_Moving forward from the front, Cynthia Rose takes the lead, with Beca on main backup, her voice still audible over CR's. Beca didn't need a huge solo, but the others had insisted, since she's the new Captain, and she was the one responsible for everything. The crowd cheers extra loudly when their dance moves take a slightly sexy turn, a result of Beca, CR, and Stacie working together. It was a pretty good combo, actually. _

_As the rest of the girls harmonize _Price Tag_, they move into two lines, placing their hands together, and Beca heads to the back, starting on their next song, Simple Minds' _Don't You (Forget About Me)_, inspired by Jesse, and his obsession with the Breakfast Club movie. She emerges to the front of the stage, the other Bellas moving their hands aside to reveal her, and the audience pipes up a bit as the next song is introduced. This part is mostly Beca, no extra fancy backup or harmony, just the other girls providing the backtrack, and Beca's voice, smooth and silky, floating around the room. With the other girls in a fan behind her, Beca leads them in some simple choreography, while glancing over to Jesse, who's lifted his head and is staring at her, trying to believe what he's hearing. This song is an apology to him, Beca can't help pushing people out, she wishes she didn't, and he didn't deserve what she did. But hopefully, this might help him forgive her. _

_Lots of people are cheering at the familiar song, and Beca is smiling broadly as she sings, she loves this. It's thrilling, it's fun, it's exhilarating. At the chorus, Beca strongly sings the lyrics, while the other girls, in a nod to a key song in their journey here, backup with _Just the Way You Are_. Jesse is smiling slightly now, not believing what he's hearing, but can't help but grin. _

_The Bellas move into a line, each one resting on the person in front of them, and Beca sings the bridge while the others quiet down around her. They break soon after, and Beca walks forwards slowly, looking at Jesse for any sign of forgiveness. He's staring straight at her, until she repeats the line a second time, and he gives the slightest of nods and a tiny smile, so small only Beca noticed, but she still saw it, and couldn't stop the grin from taking over her features. The last time she repeats the line is stronger, more empowered, and many people can hear it and cheer for her, especially when she rockets into the 'la la la's, clearly enjoying herself and just letting go. Many of the other Bellas are doing so as well, freestyle dancing, by themselves or with others, and Beca notices Aubrey letting her hair down from it's old flight attendant bun. Jesse grins, and raises his hand up, cheering for Beca as she goes, and the Bellas surround Beca, moving into a group as they transition to their last song. _

_They start the group choreography, moving smoothly into Pitbull's _Give Me Everything_, and at the new song, the crowd gets fired up again. Chloe brings out her newfound bass voice, adding a new dimension to the song that they couldn't get before. Beca and Aubrey are on leads, and the blonde dances in place, ruffling her hair to loosen it, showing that she's really having fun, and accepting this new sound, and letting go of the old. Beca is really proud of her, especially with everything that happened with the vomit and the punishment from the old Bella Captain._

_The girls split up, Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey in the center on leads, and do some group dance moves, until they divide into pairs and have Stacie and Lilly front and center for her small solo. They continue into the chorus while Cynthia Rose start to rap one of the verses, and Beca sees Aubrey dancing with Amy while taking off her old jacket. Now, Aubrey's completely in the new era of the Bellas. Stacie does some of her ballet moves, and they all move over to one side of the stage as CR stands in the front and raps, while the others bring back _Price Tag _for backup. _

_As Cynthia Rose leads the Bellas a few at a time over to the other side of the stage, the others do some slightly more girly/sexy choreo and join her, doing a little freestyle on the other side. They shift back to the center of the stage as CR sings the pre-chorus, and then Fat Amy takes over for her solo, improvising some gun gestures with her hand in an...interesting place while Denise, Jessica, and Ashley surround her. As she starts her solo, Beca could swear she hears someone yell 'go Fat Amy!' Which almost makes her crack up, but she holds it in. Right now, she's in the middle of a performance, and she has some solo lines coming up that she needs to land. After the crowd cheers for Amy's slightly inappropriate (but hey. It's Amy.) finger gun, Beca chimes in behind her with a few powerful lines from _Don't You (Forget About Me)_, and once Amy finishes her solo, grinning widely, the Bellas group up again, continuing their second song. _

_In the transition, Stacie convinces Beca to do a, as Beca likes to call it, Fat Amy, pushing her hand up from underneath her breast in a more daring and sexy move. Luckily, the crowd enjoys it, and they start their up and down choreo for the mix. The crowd loves it, and cheers even louder, and they tone down the tempo for a tiny bit of _Don't You (Forget About Me)_, Beca on clear leads. As she holds the final note of a line, the other girls sing 'party in the USA', referencing another key song from their journey to Finals. As they do this, they all turn to look to one side of the stage, but one at a time, Stacie starting doing the splits, then the others following, creating a slant upwards along with a rising note from the Bellas, which the crowd loves. _

_The tempo goes back to normal, and they all disperse, moving to the edges of the stage, dancing along in whatever way they want, pumping up the crowd as they sing. Beca almost laughs when she sees John and Gail in their booth dancing along. John is in his seat and Gail using his leg as a guitar, the scene is pretty priceless. Amy chimes in behind her with a line from _Turn the Beat Around_, from their old original setlist, as a nod to where they came from, and in the last two lines, the girls group up again, put their hands in their circle, then lift and fall outwards, turning to face the audience grinning on the last note, the song cutting off sharply, and with finality. _

_The audience goes positively wild, and all of the Bellas are grinning from ear to ear. They exchange a group hug, then file off the stage to their seats, practically on top of the world. _

When the last video cuts out, DSM burst into applause again. Beca blushes, and shushes them all. "So, you're the one responsible for the Bellas's sound, and them winning your nationals for the past 3 years?" Aran clarifies. Beca nods. "Damn! They're such idiots for kicking you out like that." Everyone winces, worried about Aran bringing it up, but Beca just shrugs.

"Their loss. I can still mix without the Bellas. I'll just need to find some people to test them out for me." Luisa exchanges a look with Andrew and Aran.

"Well, I know that our sound is very different from yours, _kleine maus_, but we would be open to trying whatever you have made. You are extremely talented, it would be an honor to get to try one of your mixes," Luisa says encouragingly.

Beca stares at her lap. "Um, we'll see. I doubt anything I have is good enough, at least right now. I was working on them today, but none of them are really done or anything-" Beca rambles, but is cut off by Hana.

"Could we hear one?" she asks, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Not tonight," Luisa says. "It is late, and we don't want to keep anyone up," she says, cocking her head at Finn and Sarah, both of whom are struggling to stay awake. "But, there is one thing we'd like to ask you," she says. Beca looks up confused, and Luisa glances around, checking with everyone else, who all nod in conformation. "Well, we will be leaving Atlanta very soon, and we were wondering...if you wanted to come with us?"

Beca stares at her. "Like, just tag along?" Luisa shrugs, discreetly crossing her fingers that Beca will say yes.

"If that's what you wanted. Or, you could take a spot on DSM. It'd be up to you whether you wanted to perform or not, but your mixing and arranging skills would be a huge addition and an incredible asset, not to mention all of us have thoroughly enjoyed your company. But please, don;t feel like we're pressuring you into this. I understand that you mostly just met most of us, so take all the time you need." Beca nods, grateful for the time. "But, I must warn you, we leave at the end of the week."

"So, in five days?" Beca checks. Luisa nods. "Ok. Um, a little time would be great, thank you guys so much for the offer."

"Thank you for sharing your story with us," Hana says.

"I'm going to take these two upstairs," Andrew says, standing up. He winks at Beca. "And you probably want us out of your fur for the night."

"It's 'out of your hair'," Beca corrects. Andrew shrugs, grinning at her.

"Close enough, no?" He picks up a sleepy Finn, and Pieter follows his lead, taking Sarah. "Finn says goodnight everyone," he says in a mocking voice before turning and slowly walking up the stairs, Pieter echoing his goodnight before leaving with a sleeping Sarah.

Then, Luisa stands as well. "We will let you sleep, _maus._ And if you go for a run in the morning, Andrew would likely revere you as a goddess if you invited him along." With that, Luisa, Hana, Aran, and a half asleep Jasper bid Beca goodnight and had up to their rooms. Once they leave, Beca falls into get bed in shock. DSM. Like, Das Sound Machine. Want her. Beca Mitchell. To trash along on their tour. And possibly do arrangements for them. OMG. Could today be any better? Beca would honestly love to go with them, she's made such great friends with the group already, the only thing holding her back is Cynthia Rose. If she went with DSM, then the only way she could stay in touch with her only friend left on the Bellas would be social media and face time. She wouldn't be able to see her in person, possibly ever. But, DSM might help her visit the US occasionally, or her dad if he's feeling particularly nice. But most of Beca's closer family lives in Europe. Her grandparents live in Germany. They have a nice house there. Deciding to put that decision off for at least tomorrow, Beca sinks into her pillow, and shuts her eyes, quickly falling fast asleep.

**A/N: Whew! That was fun. Someone commented about having Chloe be jealous of Becommissar, and I think that is such a great idea! Thank you so much! This will be so much fun to write, and hopefully I don't ruin the idea! Thanks so much for the reviews, they give me great ideas, and help me continue writing! Wish me luck on chapter 4! - Facade Contessa**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So, here's Chapter 4. Sorry if it's a bit short. School's a bitch. **

When she wakes up in the morning, it's just as early as the day before. So, figuring it a good idea to clear her mind and possibly think about her new decision, Beca throws on black running shorts, a sports bra, and a black mesh tank top. As she looks in the mirror in the downstairs bathroom to pull her hair into a high ponytail, Beca can't help but wonder if DSM subconsciously inspired her outfit with all their black mesh looks, but she ignores it. Slipping her phone into her armband along with her wallet and her earbuds, Beca laces up her shoes and sneaks upstairs as to not wake anyone, this time for a completely different reason. Then, she remembers what Luisa told her about Andrew and his desire to get active. But the DJ doesn't know which room is his. Reluctantly deciding to leave without him, Beca heads into the kitchen to look for a pen and paper to write DSM a note on where she went, and that she's sorry she didn't wake Andrew.

But, as she starts to write, the blonde beatboxer appears at the bottom of the stairs, looking around for something or someone. Frowning, Beca heads back out into the living room. "What're you looking for?" she asks, also curious as to why he has running clothes on. As soon as she speaks, his head jerks towards her so fast Beca is surprised it didn't fall off. He relaxes once he sees her, and grins.

"I was hoping to catch you on your way out. And I'm glad I did," he says. Beca nods.

"I was just writing the others a note on where I was going. I would have went up to get you, but I don't know which room is which, and I get the feeling that there are a few people who get really grumpy if they get woken up this early," Beca confesses.

Andrew smiles and shrugs. "Yeah, generally Pieter is the worst, but Aran and Sarah are pretty bad too. And my room is the first one at the top of the stairs. The others put me there since they figured I'd be sneaking out for runs."

"Smart of them," Beca comments. Andrew merely smirks. "Well, I'll just finish my note, and then we'll be off. Early morning might be the best time to see Atlanta."

"Well, maybe you can show me the highlights," Andrew suggests. Beca nods, and heads back into the kitchen.

_Hey dudes,_

_I'm off on a run, If I'm not back already, I should be back around 7 ish. Andrew is tagging along, just so you know. I promise I'll wait for breakfast this time._

_-Beca_

Andrew reads the note over her shoulder and nods in conformation, and the two head out. It's not very light out, there's a thick blanket of dark clouds overhead, so the brunette decides to make sure they don't stay out too long. Beca tucks her headphones away so she and Andrew can talk, and they do as Beca steers them through the streets. On their run, Beca shows him the classic tourist sites, and also the hidden gems of the city, such as her favorite coffee shop. He asks where her internship is, and she shows him where the studio is. They also run a bit through Barden, though taking care to avoid any Bellas, and past a club that Beca sometimes DJ's at for a little extra cash, since her internship isn't paying much.

They get back to the Airbnb right around their scheduled time, just when it starts to rain, and when they get back, Luisa is awake, sipping a coffee on the couch while reading something on her phone. She looks up when the door opens, and smiles gently when she sees the two sweaty runners enter the house. "Good morning _maus_. How was your run?"

"Good," Beca replies, slipping off her shoes. "I showed Andrew some sights, we talked, we ran. That's just about it. But it was fun."

"Glad to hear it," Luisa says.

"What am I, sliced organs?" Andrew says, feigning offense at not being included in the conversation.

"You mean chopped liver," Beca corrects. She's getting used to correcting the Germans when they mess up American idioms and phrases by now. It seems to be a daily occurrence.

"Same thing," Andrew replies flippantly. Luisa smirks at him.

"I assumed you had fun, so I don't feel the need to bother asking," she says. Andrew raises an eyebrow at her, but doesn't bother to poke holes in her reasoning. "And you should go upstairs and take a shower. You sweat horribly, and we don't want the _mauschen_ being driven away by your hog sweat," Luisa comments, wrinkling her nose teasingly. Beca sighs and rolls her eyes.

"It's normally called pig sweat," she says in a monotone. Luisa shrugs.

"I was close enough. Now you go," she orders to Andrew. He simply smirks at her, and after sending Beca a wink, he jogs up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and heads into the bathroom. Beca lets out a breath, and checks her phone for anything from Cynthia Rose. She'll check her alternate social media account later, she just wants to make sure there's nothing urgent that she missed. Luckily, there's nothing. Then, she looks back up at Luisa, who's still looking at her.

"Um, I'm probably gonna shower too. I'll be back in a few minutes," Beca promises, wanting to make sure they know that she won't disappear again.

Luisa smiles at her. "Take all the time you need. I'll make sure that none of the nosy members go down there."

"Thanks," Beca says gratefully. After an awkward half-wave, she heads downstairs, and takes a speedy shower before changing into faded capri-length ripped skinny jeans and a gray tank top, layered under a loose navy sweater. Tying her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck, she skips over makeup today, not feeling the need to use it with DSM. With the Bellas, she was expected to be the emo or the pessimist of the group, but with DSM...she doesn't feel the need to be that. Which is nice, Beca decides.

Jogging upstairs, she finds that no one else woke up, and Luisa is still in the same position as she left her. When she reappears, Luisa looks up, and cocks her head. "You are very efficient, _kleine maus_."

Beca shrugs. "I'm just naturally fast by now. With the Bellas, you had to be quick, otherwise they'd ambush you when you got out and made you take part in a dance party after only 30 seconds to get clothes on."

Luisa's eyebrows shoot up. "So, you regularly took part in dance parties where one member was partially nude?"

"Yeah," Beca replies nonchalantly. "I was generally lucky, I could normally get pants on, but most of the Bellas could only get on a bra and underwear in that time. Those ones were always more fun, so they stopped ambushing me for the most part. But that might have had to do with a few death threats that I gave them after they called one while the Trebles were there."

"The Trebles?" Luisa asks, trying to distract her mind from the image of Beca dancing while being partially naked. And damn, tearing her mind away from that was hard. It's a pretty good image.

"The Treblemakers are another a Capella group from Barden. There are strangely a lot of teams there, there's the Bellas, the Trebles, the Barden University Harmonics, and the High Notes. Though, the last one isn't really a team, they're basically always...well, high," Beca explains with a shrug. Luisa nods, and them both women chuckle when Beca's stomach growls. Beca's face reddens, but Lusia stands and puts her hand on Beca's shoulder.

"Do not worry, little mouse. We will get you some food to quiet your stomach," Luisa assures in a falsely serious tone. While Luisa grins at her, Beca rolls her eyes and leaves the blonde in favor of the kitchen.

"Do you guys do cooking rotations?" Beca wonders as she goes through the cupboards.

Luisa nods, following her into the kitchen. "Yes. One or two people are in charge of food for the day."

Andrew follows right after, hair still wet from the shower, though now in jeans and a black DSM t shirt. "Who's turn is it for breakfast?" Beca asks.

"Technically Pieter's," Andrew interrupts. "But whenever it's his turn to cook we always eat out and he just pays." Beca cocks her head in confusion.

"Pieter, how do you say, can not cook to save his life?" Luisa says, checking with Beca on the phrase. Beca nods, confirming that she got it right, and the blonde continues. "The last time her attempted to make a meal...well, let us say that we paid a lot of money in repair costs," Luisa summarizes. "Our managers were not very happy with us. Well, him in particular." Andrew snorts.

"Could I get in on the rotation?" Beca asks.

"_Nein, maus_, you don't have to do that-" Luisa starts.

"But I want to," Beca interrupts. Then, she looks down at the floor. "There are some really good recipes that my mom and her family taught me. I made them for the Bellas sometimes, they're good for feeding a group of people this size." When Luisa opens her mouth to argue once more, Beca jumps in again. "And I don't mean to mess up your rotation or anything, I just like doing it."

"But-" Luisa begins, and then Andrew elbows her sharply in the side.

"Sure," he says, cutting Luisa off. "I'm sure whatever you make will be better than these American fast food restaurants." At that, Luisa wrinkles her nose. "And if that's what you want, we can totally add you in right before Pieter. That actually evens out our schedule," he tells her. Beca smiles, and then looks over at Luisa to check that it's actually ok. Luckily, the blonde is smiling.

"Yes, it would make some things easier. If you wish, _maus._ Thank you for making breakfast," Luisa says.

"Yes, I'm sure it'll be delicious!" Andrew says, winking at Beca ask he leaves the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand. Luisa rolls her eyes at him, but looks confusedly at Beca as the brunette exits the kitchen. She comes back a second later with her bluetooth headphones and her phone.

Music is an essential to Beca's life, and cooking is no different. It gives her something to move to. But she remembers DSM saying that sounds move quickly through the house, so she brought her headphones as to not wake anyone up. She turns on her cooking playlist, which she hasn't used in some time, actually, and begins to take ingredients off the shelves. Then, she remembers something, and then quickly turns to Luisa, who's sitting at the kitchen bar.

"Does anyone have any allergies or eating restrictions?" she asks. Luisa shakes her head, and Beca lets out a breath. "Good."

"What are you making, _mauschen_?" Luisa asks. "I would assume something with cheese, _ja_?" Beca looks at her flatly.

"Ha ha, very funny. No. Are pancakes okay?" At this, Beca could swear she sees Luisa's mouth water, and she definitely hears Andrew give a cheer from his spot in the living room. Luisa nods quickly.

"Yes, more than ok. In fact, I have not had a pancake in...maybe a little over two years."

Beca whistles. "Damn. You have been missing out. All the Bellas say that my pancakes are like, heaven or something, but I don't believe them. But no matter what they taste like, it'll probably be amazing to you then, huh?"

"Maybe not. I have had many a delicious breakfast, maybe not pancakes, but I can still compare them," Luisa replies.

"We'll see," Beca says. Nodding and humming along to her music as she works, Beca starts to make her pancake mix. Since they didn't have the premade stuff, she made it from scratch, though it;s better that way, in Beca's opinion. Plus, it gives her the opportunity to add delicious mix ins, like sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Once she finishes the batter, she starts to make them, putting the finished pancakes on a plate in the oven to keep them warm until everyone's awake. Beca likes smaller silver-dollar pancakes, but she doesn't know how DSM like theirs, so she compromises with a medium size. Even so, they're still light and fluffy, the butter from the pan crystallizing onto the sides in a nice golden-brown color. Perfect.

As Beca works, Luisa studies the woman, how she moves gracefully around the kitchen to the time of her music, her soft, soothing, silky humming along, and her wonderfully form-fitting jeans. She looks happy here, she looks at peace. Then Luisa thinks of something. She's brought up her mother twice, coincidentally both times were about food, but she has yet to bring up her father. The blonde's expression suddenly falls. _Has he passed?_ she wonders. She isn't sure how to bring up the topic with Beca, so she files it away for now. Hopefully, Beca will feel comfortable enough around them to share it, but on her own time. Luisa would never want to push her. For now, she'll settle with identifying what songs Beca is listening to by her humming and motions to the beat. So far, she's picked up on some Beyoncé, and some Jennifer Lopez. She can't deny that the brunette has good taste in music.

As Beca cooks, the delicious, sweet scent of the pancakes begins to lure others downstairs. Hana is the first to appear, with Finn closely behind her. After chatting with Beca and Luisa in the kitchen for a bit, they get coffee or tea and join Andrew in the living room. Jasper is down next, following suit. To no one's surprise, Pieter is awake next. "His appetite is more than all of ours combined," Luisa informs Beca, completely serious. "He would literally eat an entire restaurant out of food if we let him, and if he had the money to pay for it." Beca giggles, and Pieter just smirks as he fills up his mug and plops down next to Luisa.

Finally, Aran and Sarah get downstairs, and everyone excitedly moves to the dining room, where Beca has a plate of sausage that she also made, and then a massive plate of pancakes, plus all the other fix ins around the table, like maple syrup, butter, jam, and whipped cream. They all sit down and excitedly dig in. As people take their first bites, Beca shuts her eyes tightly, hoping that they're not horrible. But, to her delight, groans of delight and other sounds of happiness meet her ears, and she lets out a breath. Success. Letting herself relax as DSM furiously devour her pancakes, she manages to snag enough for herself in the commotion. Glancing over at Luisa, the blonde has a smile on her face, and her eyes shut peacefully.

"Well?" Beca asks her. "As good as you remember?" Luisa opens her eyes, and looks over at Beca.

"Even better. These are amazing, _mauschen_," Luisa says.

"These are beyond amazing!" Pieter crows. "You must be some sort of magician or something. I didn't think pancakes could taste this good!"

Beca snorts, and Luisa chuckles. "I think you have just broken Pieter," she comments, seriously considering the idea.

"You are my new favorite person," Pieter says, not even caring, while helping himself to even more.

"I thought I was your favorite person," Andrew interrupts, fake pouting. Pieter shrugs, not caring for his dramatics.

"You did not make me the most amazing pancakes I've ever eaten while saving me from paying for breakfast for a day," he reasons, while drizzling syrup and spraying whipped cream onto his stack.

Andrew sighs in defeat and turns to Beca. "I suppose that is fair. The coveted title of Pieter's favorite person is yours now, _fee_." He grins at her. "And if I'm being honest, you might be my new favorite person too." He winks at her, and Beca laughs, noting the new nickname. _Fairy. Better than Troll, at least_, Beca thinks.

Luisa notes all of this carefully as well, face tightening slightly with Andrew and Beca's exchange. It;s teasing, like Andrew always does, but it doesn't sit right with her. The pile of pancakes is almost gone already, and many other DSM members are praising Beca and her cooking, and she flushes at the compliments. After the last of the food is polished off, Beca stands to clear the table, Andrew jumping up to assist. As they bring the piles of plates into the kitchen, he turns to her. "You know, here we don't let the magician chefs do the dishes," he comments sassily, raising an eyebrow at her. Beca smiles and sets down her plates, raising her hands up in innocence.

"Then I should probably leave before I get in trouble with the Kommissar," she jokes. Andrew laughs.

"Probably. But thanks for the help. And seriously, thanks for the pancakes, they were amazing and don't tell yourself anything else." Beca nods, and waves as she leaves Andrew to the dishes. She feels a little bad leaving him there, but the last thing she wants to do get in trouble with the Kommissar.

Instead. She makes her way downstairs, and takes out her mixing equipment. DSM was asking about some of her mixes, so she goes through her files for a good one. Much to her annoyance, none of them seem good enough, so she continues to work on the one she was going to use as one of the Bellas' Worlds numbers. It won't be that anymore, but maybe she can get Cynthia Rose to help her out with it. And she might be able to recruit some of the BU Harmonics, or maybe a few open DSM members. Their sound is so different from hers. So she has no idea what to do to impress them. They seemed impressed by her generic mixes from the videos she showed them, but they couldn't perform any of them. Beca would have to totally change her sound if she were to mix anything for Das Sound Machine. And the DJ doesn't know if that's worth it or not.

**A/N: Thank y'all so much for the reviews! I'm thinking that Andrew might try to make Luisa jealous so she woman's up and gets with Beca. But IDK. And the Becommissar might be a little slow-burn. Sorry. And I seriously apologize for my horrible German, for what little there is. All I have is Google translate, but if anyone has more accurate translations to ****_anything_****, please let me know! - Facade Contessa**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know I've said this before but school's a bitch. I'll do my best to update every week or so, but we'll see how much I suck at school.**

Like usual when she's working on music, Beca loses complete track of time until Andrew pokes his head downstairs. "_Fairy?_ Are you down there?" he calls.

"Hmm?'" Beca says, lifting her head, headphones still covering her knows she heard something, she just isn't sure what the person said. Andrew grins and jogs down the stairs, pushing the headphones gently off her ears. She opens her mouth to argue with him, but he speaks first.

"I'm not trying to interrupt your genius. I was just checking on you, you've been down here since breakfast." Beca cocks her head, looking confused, and Andrew chuckles. "It's 3 o' clock, _fairy_. You've been down here for hours." Beca's eyes widen, and she removes her headphones from around her neck.

"God, I'm sorry. I just lost track of time-"

"Don't worry about it. No one's mad, they were just curious. Well, I was curious," he says, effectively calming the brunette down. "Do you want to share what you were working on?" he asks. Beca shrugs, deciding to chance it, and quickly saves her work before standing. She packs up her equipment and sets it aside, still holding onto her laptop.

"Sure. I mean, if you guys want to."

"I know I'd like too," Andrew says as they make their way upstairs. "And probably Pieter, since you're his new favorite. And I would bet that Luisa wants to hear too." Beca flushes, and Andrew grins, leading her into the living room, where Aran is sprawled sideways across a chair reading, Luisa is listening to music, and Pieter is sideways on the couch, head in Luisa's lap, attempting to get her attention. So far, he's failing. To Beca, the blonde looks peaceful and undisturbed by Pieter, and frankly, super gorgeous. _No, bad Beca_, she scolds herself as Andrew shoves Pieter's legs off the couch and plops down where they used to be. She can't afford to be thinking thoughts like that, especially right now, when she's living with her, and Luisa's being such a good host.

"Hey guys, Beca wants to show us what she's been working on," he says, grinning at her. Beca begins to protest that this was his idea, but no one seems to care. In fact, Pieter removes his head form Luisa's lap and jumps up in excitement.

"_Maus_, we would love to hear your work," Luisa says, taking her headphones off, missing the way Pieter frowns at how easily it was for Beca to distract the blonde. "Though I must warn you, if you keep this up, Pieter might be following you around for the rest of your life, and believe me, you don't want that." Pieter pouts, and Luisa punches him in the arm. He pretends to be hurt, but Luisa simply rolls her eyes and hip-checks him, making him fall onto the couch. He doesn't even have the decency to stay there, because he simply gets up again.

"This is why the troll is my favorite!" Pieter exclaims. "She makes the best pancakes, and she cures boredom!" This time, it's Beca who rolls her eyes, and Pieter considers it a success. Her eye roll count is already at 100. That's more than Luisa got in her first few days of meeting him.

"And maybe I'll make you more pancakes if you stop calling me that," Beca retorts as she seats herself in the second armchair, and opens her laptop, missing the horrified look on Pieter's face.

"So, there will be no more pancakes if I continue to call you troll?" Pieter whispers. Beca simply nods as she picks out a song to play. Pieter's eyes widen, and he clamps his mouth shut.

"Congratulations, _kleine maus_," Luisa says in a monotone. "You have broken Pieter." Beca just shrugs, and as she sets up her song, Jasper, Finn, Sarah, and Hana enter the room, since Aran texted them that Beca was sharing one of her songs. She eyes the short woman suspiciously, and Aran smirks innocently as Beca selects a song. It's a mash-up of _Run The World (Girls)_, by Beyonce, _Where Them Girls At_, by David Guetta, and a few other small parts of songs that Beca likes. Namely, _Timber_, in homage to the president's birthday disaster, _Lady Marmalade_ by Patti Labelle, and Pat Benatar's _We Belong_. She recorded all the vocals herself, the lead, harmony, and the backing, though she can't beat box to save her life so she used a drum pad. The beginning of the song starts off with an extended clapping sequence, made up of layered clapping loops that Beca recorded. If she was to have the Bellas perform it, or someone, she'd have them all in a line, using parts of their body and each other to make the clapping noises. Ideally, it'd look super impressive, especially since it'd be all in sync and super coordinated.

She holds her breath as DSM listen quietly to the song playing from her laptop. All of their faces are blank, and their eyes are shut, listening hard to the sound. She has no idea if they like it or not, and she's getting nervous. Don't get her wrong, she loves criticism and feedback on her work, but she really wants to impress these guys. Especially Luisa..._no. Just DSM in general_, Beca tells herself.

Once the song cuts off, Beca scans everyone's faces for any clue on their opinions. She finally relaxes when they all burst into applause simultaneously. Flopping back in her chair, she lets out a heavy breath. Many people laugh at her, and she just flips them off, feeling suddenly too exhausted to do anything else. "You guys almost killed me," she complains.

"That was incredible, Beca!" Hana exclaims. "Can we please try to sing it?" Beca's eyes widen in surprise and astonishment, and everyone looks towards Luisa. She leaves them hanging for a dramatic minute before grinning.

"It was fantastic, _maus_. I think we could do that, _nein_?" she asks her teammates. They all nod enthusiastically, and quickly agree on parts. Andrew, of course, takes the beatboxing, though Beca convinces him to let her play the recording of the clapping sequence, since that'd be _super_ hard to beatbox. Not that Andrew couldn't do it, but it'd be easier, especially for a first try. Pieter takes the rapping part of _Where Them Girls At_, Jasper has a small solo for the chorus of the same song, and Luisa takes lead for _Run The World (Girls)_. Aran has a solo for _We Belong_, and Sarah has backing on the rap part. Instead of taking solos for the few lyrics of _Timber_ and _Lady Marmalade,_ Hana convinces Beca to do them. On Luisa's count, they all stand and Beca plays the clapping part, and then pauses the track and DSM takes over the song. They sound great, in Beca's opinion, even though it's a complete 180 from their usual style. It's strange, hearing the mighty Das Sound Machine sing something so poppy and freestyle. But it surprisingly works. The part where Beca and Luisa's voices merge sends shivers down the brunette's spine, though she brushes them off. It's just because they sound amazing, she decides.

When they finish, everyone is grinning from ear to ear, and staring expectantly at Luisa for confirmation that they crushed it. The blonde grins back at them, and turns to Beca. "I think we killed that song," she finally says, and everyone cheers. Pride blooms in Beca's chest, and her heart makes the decision for her. She's been sorta struggling with it all day, but hearing DSM perform her mix and sound so good, well, it gives her hope that she can still contribute, or fit in with them.

"Totally," Beca agrees. She takes a deep breath. There are still so so many things she doesn't know about everyone, and so so many things they don't know about her, but they've shown her such compassion, concern for her, and even love that she's willing to take a chance and see where this goes. "And, um, about your offer? For coming with you guys on your tour?" Beca says, slightly quieter this time. DSM silences immediately, all of them holding their breath for Beca's answer. They really want her to come with them, she's so amazing, the Bellas are complete idiots for hurting her. "I'll do it." The room is dead silent. Beca starts to panic. They must have changed their minds, or didn't actually mean it, or didn't mean it that way. "I mean, unless you guys don't want me, I might be a drag or something-" She starts to ramble, but it cut off by Aran and Sarah surging forward and capturing her in a group hug, which the rest of DSM quickly add themselves in to. "So it's okay if I crash you guys' party for a while?" Beca asks, just to confirm.

Even Luisa can't help the huge smile on her face. She shakes her head, and laces her fingers with Beca's for a quick moment, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze that leaves both of their hands tingling. "More than okay, _mauschen_. We would all love that."

"More pancakes!" Pieter exclaims, breaking the sweet moment. Everyone cracks up at that, though Pieter brushes it off, since they're laughing at him. Then, he takes Beca by the arm and starts to lead her towards the stairs. "Come, if you are going to remain here, and since you are my favorite person, you must learn of this miracle. It is called Just Dance…" As Pieter rambles on, dragging Beca towards the downstairs to play, she turns back to the others, eyes wide, mouthing for help, but the others only shrug while grinning impishly, doing nothing to free her. Once she realizes that they aren't going to help her, she gives them all death glares before disappearing downstairs with Pieter.

Luisa and the others all fall onto the couch or onto chairs, a huge weight just lifted off of their chests. Everyone else starts talking, and Luisa shuts her eyes, falling into a brief fantasy of her and Beca, holding hands, walking around her beautiful hometown of Munich together. They'd talk and laugh, completely at ease. Beca would say something completely adorable, and then she'd start to ramble in the cute way of hers, and Luisa would just lean down and kiss her...

"Ahem!" Andrew says, snapping the blonde out of her wonderful daydream.

"Yes?" Luisa asks, slightly annoyed. Andrew grins.

"You were really worried she was going to say no, weren't you?" he asks teasingly. Refusing to cave to his trap, she rolls her eyes.

"I was hoping she'd say yes, but I would have respected her decision if she had chosen to stay," she stated simply.

"Yeah, I guess, but I also was really hoping she wouldn't say no," Hana adds. As the others continue to chat, Andrew, sad that the bait he set failed, fake pouts and slumps in his seat.

"So, now that she's coming with us, do you think she wants to sing with us, or just travel around and hang out?" Aran asks.

"It'd be cool if she sang with us, I mean, she sounded great with us just now," Jasper says.

"Yeah, but it was so different from our usual sound," Finn says. "She'd have to get used to it, for sure. Not to mention all the workouts, practices and training that she's not used to, coming from the Bellas."

"I don't know. She chose to get up super early and run with Andrew," Hana counters. "And he was very out of breath afterwards. I'd say she could do it. Plus, wasn't the old Bella captain before Beca super strict and hardcore?"

"I'm not saying she can't, I just said it might take a little while for her to get used to it," Finn argues.

"What do you think, Luisa?" Aran asks, turning to the blonde captain, who's been silent throughout the whole exchange.

"I do not know. We will see what she thinks about this, but let's give her a break. We don't want to give her one hard decision after another," Luisa says.

"You're boring," Andrew complains, piping up suddenly. Luisa smiles sweetly at him.

"I shoot to please," she replies.

"Aim," Beca corrects, coming up the stairs and into the living room. Looking terrifically out of breath, and her hair is slightly ruffled, but Luisa just thinks it makes her look even more sexy. Then, Pieter follows behind her, also out of breath, and for some reason only wearing one sock. Luisa was sure he had two on earlier…

"Americans and their phrases," Luisa mutters. Beca smirks and plops down beside her as Pieter slumps against the wall. "And how did you lose a sock playing Just Dance, Pieter?" Luisa asks, honestly confused.

"This one," he pants, pointing to Beca. "Is the best person alive."

"I managed to beat him," Beca clarifies. "But I also might have admitted that Just Dance is one of my guilty pleasures." Luisa chuckles.

"Ah, _mauschen_, you really must stop giving Pieter all of these things. I don't think he will ever let you leave now," she informs the brunette.

Beca just shrugs. _As long as you're there too_, she thinks. Realizing herself, she shakes the thought out of her head. Not the time, and not the place. Especially in her situation. "Well, I'll be here for at least a while longer. He might change his mind," Beca reasons. "There are plenty of annoying things about me."

"We'll see, _mauschen_."

"Yeah, ok." Beca says, leaning her head back against the couch, unintentionally showing off her smooth, pale neck. Luisa has to curl her hands into fists and dog her nails onto her palms to restrain herself. _Nein, Luisa. Nein._ _You don't know if the maus feels the same,_ she tells herself. "So, where are the other stops on the tour?" Beca asks.

"Well, we have a few stops…" everyone groans when Aran, ever the organized one, begins to reel off their tour dates and locations. Aran and the rest of the Germans don't know where or what any of the locations mean, not being from the United States, but Beca just nods, knowing where all of the places are. Another bonus to having Beca with them: she knows the U.S. while the Germans do not.

And all of them are doing a really good job of speaking in English around Beca, though many of them have the idea of teaching her German so they can talk in their native language, though Luisa knows she might have a harder time controlling herself if Beca is going around speaking in German all the time. That would be so sexy…

Pieter stands up, announcing loudly that he's going to go use the bathroom, and everyone makes 'eww' noises and kick Pieter out of the room, ignoring the satisfied smirk on his face at escaping the boring conversation. Many of the other members don't want to listen to Aran drone on, even though she's moved on to talking about their set lists, so many make their excuses and leave the room. Aran realizes this, and stops talking, making Beca chuckle.

DSM disperses throughout the house, and Beca pulls out her phone, remembering that she hasn't contacted Cynthia Rose yet, and she's probably awaiting updates. So, she starts a new text thread with CR's alternate number, titling the chat _Bi Babes_.

(**A/N: Beca is in italics, and CR is in bold**)

_Hey. It's Beca. _

She sends the text, and holds her breath, hoping she responds. Thankfully, the three dots appear on the lower part of her screen, indicating that Cynthia Rose is writing a response text.

**OMG! Girl you take forever to text back! How are you? Are you ok? Where are you staying? Have you told Jesse? Has anything bad happened yet?**

Beca laughs at the barrage of questions.

_Easy there. I can't answer all your questions unless you ask them one at a time. Here goes: I'm fine, yes I'm ok, I'm staying at an Airbnb, no I haven't told Jesse but he probably knows by now because of this thing called social media, and nothing bad has happened._

**Good. I need all the details on everything that has happened since you stepped foot out of Casa Bella. Now!**

_Jeez, fine. So, I actually didn't have anywhere to go, so I went to the park and Luisa and Pieter found me and let me stay with them. That's where I am now. They're really cool actually. _

**Who're Luisa and Pieter?**

_Oh, right. They're the lead singers for DSM. I'm staying with DSM right now._

**Damn! You're living with tall, blonde and German? Lucky girl!**

_Stop it._

**Fine. But tell me once you get some.**

_Quit it, I'm serious. I don't need anyone looking over my shoulder right now._

**Ok, ok. But all of you in one Airbnb? How does that work?**

_There is a core group of 8 members, and the others are backup singers and dancers._

**Oh. That makes sense. So, they're, like, nice? And they're not actually robots?**

_Yeah, they're really cool. And Fat Amy owes me twenty bucks, I knew they weren't robots. (Pick that up for me. Or just steal it, I don't care.) But I made pancakes this morning, and now Pieter thinks I'm, like, a god._

**LOL. I'll get you your dues, son't worry. But seriously, your pancakes are magical. So that makes sense. **

_He's also obsessed with Just Dance…_

**OMG that is priceless. It's like you two were made to be besties or something. Have you played yet?**

_Yes. I crushed him, and he still thinks I'm some divine being..._

**This is too great. Well, please keep me updated, and UPDATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS! I want pictures and better juicy things than you're giving me! In return, I'll give you updates on how the Bellas are disintegrating into chaos without you, and how they react to your profiles that they're secretly still checking.**

_Perfect. Thanks, CR. You're the best._

**I Know. **

**;)**

Beca and CR both log off, and Beca chuckles to herself at her friend's humorous outbursts. Luisa, who's still in the living room, looks over at her. "What is so funny?"

"Nothing. Just one of my friends is demanding updates on my social media profiles."

"One of your Bellas?" Luisa asks, masking the jealousy in her voice. She saved Beca from them, she doesn't want her going back to them and getting hurt again. And she wants to keep Beca with her. No, with DSM. But mainly her. But that's not the point. "I thought you were all on bad terms."

"Well, we are. It's just one of them, Cynthia Rose. She was on my side, but she didn't stick up for me when the Bellas were going nuts because it wouldn't have made a difference. She still cares how I'm doing, so we're promising each other updates." Luisa nods, grateful that she's not thinking about heading back to the Bellas.

"I'm glad she's there for you, _mauschen_. I just hope you feel comfortable enough to come to us as well."

Beca's eyes widen, she doesn't want them to feel replaced already. She's _not_ going back to the Bellas, and they need to know that. "No, of course I feel comfortable around you guys. It's just that I've known her a bit longer. But I'll always go to you guys first," Beca assures her. Luisa smiles, and something inside Beca melts. "Um, do you want to be in a post? CR wants updates immediately, and, um, yeah." She isn't quite sure how to ask, Luisa doesn't seem to be the obsessive social media type, but the blonde just smiles and nods, understanding what she means.

"I'd love to, _maus_." Beca slides over towards Luisa, and holds up her phone for a selfie. She takes the picture, and blushes at the proximity. Settling back into her seat, she admires how good the picture looks, and how good they look together.

"There," Beca says after posting her pic, which instantly gets one like from Cynthia Rose.

"What is your account?" Luisa asks. "I'd love to follow you. And could you send the picture to me?"

"Yeah, totally." Beca sends the picture, and then follows all of DSM's personal pages too, while Luisa follows Beca's.

"_Danke shoen_," Luisa says, scrolling through some of Beca's most recent posts, which have mostly consisted of selfies of her and Cynthia Rose, pics of album covers, or food photos. She likes the most recent post of her and Beca, and clearly many other DSM members are online, because they all follow Beca as well and like the photos.

"DSM?" Beca asks, meaning the suddenly increasing number of likes. Luisa nods, and Beca just smiles softly and goes onto CR's alternate page. She's never seen it before, but it has some really cool pics of places around Atlanta, some hot girls she's met, and a few of her and Beca, actually. Beca likes a bunch of them, and then her phone dings, signalling a text. She goes back to CR and her text thread, where she's sent a video.

**The Bellas just saw your latest post. Jealousy ensues…**

Beca clicks on the video, and starts to giggle when she sees Chloe's face turn red as she sees the post and the amount of likes it already has. Especially the caption: _Chillin' with DSM! Aca-awesome!_ Many of the other Bellas come stampeding down the stairs and all ask Chloe what's going on, but the redhead is only staring at the screen furiously, practically shooting daggers at the picture. She's the image of pure jealousy, and Beca can't help but laugh. She's mad that Beca isn't crawling back to them like she'd expected. Luisa cocks her head, and Beca shows her the video, making the blonde laugh as well.

"I will give it to the Bellas, they are an amusing group," Luisa says in between chuckles.

"They sure are," Beca replies. She fires off a quick reply to CR, (_OMG! That's amazing! You can see the green halo! XD)_ and then sets her phone down. Luisa is over her laughter, and turns back towards Beca. "So, um, what happens after the tour?" Beca asks quietly. Luisa looks over, startled that she's already thinking about that, and sad as she realizes that it will happen.

"Well, DSM must go back to Germany, I'm afraid, to prepare for Worlds. Do you have family here in Atlanta?" Luisa asks. Beca looks down. Sore subject, but Luisa isn't to know that. She'd actually rather none of them knew that.

"Um, no."

"Where does your family live?" Luisa asks. Beca frantically tries to think of a realistic location. Well, the best lies are based on truth.

"Ohio."

"Ah. Your whole family?" Beca nods. Well, her dad's parents used to live there, but they're dead. Her dad is in Atlanta, obviously, and her mom's family live in Europe. Well, she could go with DSM across the ocean and live with her grandparents. That's an option, Beca figures. "Do you like Ohio?" Luisa asks, trying to keep up the conversation, though Beca has gone quiet all of a sudden.

"Not really," Beca admits. The few times she visited, it wasn't very pleasant. At least, in her opinion. (No offense to Ohio!)

"Oh. I'm sorry, _mauschen_."

"It's ok." She debates telling Luisa about her family in Europe, but decides against it. That'll only lead to more questions.

Seeing the look on her face, Luisa pipes up again. "Do not worry, _kleine maus_. We will not abandon you after the tour. DSM will make sure you will be ok." _I will make sure you're ok,_ Luisa thinks. _I don't know if I could perform at Worlds knowing you weren't ok._ Luisa knows that if Beca called her, from the US, she would drop everything and fly over to comfort and help the brunette. She can't help it. But she will make sure that nothing happens to Beca, especially once DSM has to go back to Germany.

Luisa, wondering the time, looks up at the clock. Beca sees this, and then remembers that she's cooking today, and she never made lunch. It's already 5:20. "OMG, I completely forgot about lunch! Is there something I should do, I know it's super late for that already, or-"

"_Nein_, lunch is serve-yourself. Do not worry," Luisa says, chuckling when Beca exhales into the couch. "Everyone else already ate while you were working." Beca shoots her a playful glare before shutting her eyes. Luisa is about to ask what she's doing, but then Beca holds up a hand to stop her. Luisa listens too, and then hears the sound of Andrew rhythmically bouncing a tennis ball off of his wall. It's an interesting beat, it's different and new, and Beca begins to pat her hand against the couch to deepen the beat. She leans forward, not breaking her new beat and not opening her eyes, and begins to tap her fingernails on the coffee table. After a few seconds of holding this new sound. She beings to hum a random melody, letting it alter with the beat. It moves smoothly, up and down the scales in peaceful glissandos and runs, getting louder and softer slightly now and again. Luisa shuts her eyes as well, and lets herself be absorbed in the music and in the smoothness and angelic quality of Beca's voice.

Andrew must have gotten bored, because the beat stops and Beca halts her own additions, opening her eyes. When Luisa looks into them, she can see the ideas and creativity sparkling in them. It's beautiful. Beca quickly whips out her computer and furiously types down what time the beat was, what body parts she used to add to it, what the original beat was created by, and what other things she added. When she finishes, she lets out a breath and smiles, already excited to explore that more.

"Do you do that often?" Luisa asks. Beca nods.

"Yeah, sorta. Occasionally, I'll hear a good rhythm or beat and just freeze. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I'll just stop."

"What do you do when you freeze?"

"I just analyze what I hear. What things are making the sound, where there are gaps for additions, what sounds would go well with it, and how things could be layered over it. Like vocals, for instance." Luisa nods, impressed.

"You never cease to amaze me, _mauschen_. Did I get that phrase right?" That breaks the peaceful moment, and Beca cracks up. Luisa chuckles as well, and Beca nods through her laughter.

"Yes, you got it right. Oh my god, do you normally just spit out one-liners like that?" Luisa shrugs mischievously, and Beca rolls her eyes. Then, her stomach growls, and it's Luisa's turn to crack up.

"Come, _kleine maus_. Let's find you some cheese to silence your stomach." Beca grumbles about mice and cheese the whole time Luisa is dragging her by the elbow to the kitchen.

**A/N: I'm really sorry if updates get less frequent, schools really picking up. :( But I'm really hoping to pick up the pace of the story, and get DSM and Beca touring and then to Germany. Thank you all for your amazing reviews, they really help me keep writing! All of the ideas and feedback has been amazing too! I really hope I can get to Worlds sort of soon, because I think I might continue this through PP3... but I don't know if that's a good idea. Comment if you think I should. Anyways, next up is finding our little mouse some cheese! And maybe the Bellas will make an appearance... Stay tuned! - Facade Contessa**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ok, I'm going to try and update about once a week, but that might change depending on (ugh) school. **

After a quick snack (Beca refused to eat the cheese Luisa gave her so they ate some fruit instead), a few people come downstairs asking about dinner, so Beca figures that she should start cooking. She begins to grab her headphones again as to not bother anyone, but Luisa encourages her to play her music aloud, since no one is sleeping and they are all music lovers as well. So, Beca grabs her bluetooth speaker instead and puts on her kitchen mix. The first song that comes on is _Born This Way_, by Lady Gaga, an overall great song, and Beca dances a bit as she takes inventory of what's in the fridge, and what she can make with it. Based on what she sees, she decides on a yummy quinoa salad, after checking with Luisa to make sure that's ok. The blonde just seems amused by Beca's constant need for confirmation of what she's doing, though she does a great job by herself. Beca ignores her; she just isn't quite used to everything yet, and wants to get it right. She wants to impress them. Luisa specifically. _Because she's the leader_, Beca thinks. _Yeah, totally not because she's super hot. It's just because she's the leader._

Luisa nods along to the song as Beca sings under her breath, the blonde letting Beca's voice wash over her. She doesn't realize it, but she begins to sing as well, and Beca smiles at her, making the blonde realize what she's doing. She doesn't stop; they sound very good, their voices blends wonderfully, and it makes Beca smile as she works, which in turn makes Luisa smile. Eventually, Luisa leaves to let the others know that dinner is being made and is getting close to done, and many of them follow her back downstairs for lack of a better thing to do. Hana, Andrew, and Jasper follow Luisa back to the kitchen and sit next to her at the bar window, chatting quietly in German while watching Beca work in her own little world.

Beca definitely notices DSM watching her. And she completely understands everything they're saying. She had given them permission to talk in German, since they didn't want to exclude her, but she doesn't want to restrict them from speaking their native language. And she'll tell them eventually. Currently, Luisa's updating them on what she and Beca talked about when they were discussing what happens after the tour.

"_She's thinking about that already?_" Hana asks, slightly sadly.

"_It's the practical thing to do in her position,_" Luisa says softly. "_She doesn't know where to go after, it's fair to want a plan so she's not stranded once we have to leave the United States._"

"_Yeah, but it's still a ways away. She's not even a week into touring with us,_" Jasper counters.

"_Yes, I know. And believe me, I did not really want to think about it either. But she is smart to plan for her future, especially since it is within the year range,_" Luisa admits to them.

"_I suppose that's fair_," Andrew says.

She also informs them on what she learned about Beca's family. Beca stiffens slightly when Luisa tells them what she learned, but hopes no one notices. Thankfully, they're mostly focusing on their conversation, instead of her, because she's almost sure Luisa would notice with those sharp eyes of hers.

"_She told me that her family lives in Ohio,_" Luisa says. "_All of them. And she doesn't like it there._"

"_That's it?_" Hana asks.

Luisa shrugs. "_Pretty much. I wish we knew more about her family. That might make this easier. But I don't want to pry_."

"_But I'm really curious now,_" Jasper says. "_It can't be true that her entire family lives in Ohio. That's really unusual._"

"_I didn't believe her either,"_ Luisa admits. "_But I don't want to push her. We'll just have to ignore our curiosity and let her tell us on her own time, when she trusts us enough. Hopefully that's soon._"

"_Yeah, really hopefully_," Andrew says. "_We don't want anything bad happening. Her relatives might not want her to tour with us. The sooner she tells us, the better. We don't want to get in any sort of trouble_." They all nod, and then transition to a different topic. They chat for a bit before Luisa notices that Beca stopped moving. She rarely stops moving. She's just standing in front of a counter, staring at the onions she just chopped.

"_Mauschen?_ Are you ok?" Luisa asks, remembering to switch to English for the brunette's benefit. At that, Beca seems to snap out of it, and she wipes her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just onion juice in my eyes."

"Ugh, I hate that," Jasper agrees, being a common occupant of the kitchen. Beca nods, plastering a fake smile on her face as she finishes putting everything together, tossing all the ingredients together in a large glass bowl. They all look at her hopefully and she nods, confirming that dinner is ready. Andrew jumps up, a large grin on his face. Luisa's eyes widen. Oh no.

"GUYS! DINNER'S READY!" he screams to the rest of the house. Everyone winces and immediately covers their ears. Beca is surprised that they don't have any neighbors banging down their door to yell at them, because she's pretty sure the entire neighborhood heard him. She slowly uncovers her ears, narrows her eyes, and looks over at Andrew, who's smiling satisfiedly.

"Could you at least give me a warning next time?" Beca asks, popping her ears from the extremely loud volume. "How are you so loud?"

"Being a beatboxer, you need a microphone for anyone to really hear you, so you get used to having to project when making generally hard sounds to sing loudly," Andrew explains, happy that he sounded so scientific.

"So now he's just loud everywhere else," Hana mutters, uncovering her own ears. Andrew winks at her and then heads into the dining room, the others following him. Beca sets down the large bowl and distributes smaller bowls for everyone else.

They dig in, and like last time, there are many compliments on the food given to Beca. More used to it by now, she continues eating, mainly listening along with everyone else to Andrew and Pieter bicker over who would win in a fight: Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, both the titular character of their own popular book series.

"Potter would win all the way," Pieter argues, attempting and failing at a British accent, especially with his natural German one. "He has magic. Boom. Winner, winner, turkey dinner."

"Chicken dinner," Beca deadpans, though the boys pay her no mind. She rolls her eyes and continues eating, making Luisa smirk.

"But Percy has magic too," Andrew counters.

"Yeah, water magic," Pieter scoffs.

"But he actually knows how to fight," Andrew says, smirking. "Harry had to depend on all his friends to fight for him because he's a coward." (**A/N: The opinions of our favorite idiots (Pieter and Andrew) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the author. Thank you and good night.)**

"But Percy never goes anywhere without his friends," Pieter defends.

"But he still fights for himself. They work together, while everyone has to protect Harry since he's some 'chosen one'. Garbage. Percy would destroy Harry," Andrew brags. Pieter's face turns almost red and he's about to step in when Beca cuts him off, kind of done with their useless arguing. She would definitely like a subject change, no matter how ridiculous their argument is, or how funny Pieter's face looks when it's as red as one of the tomatoes in the salad.

"No, Annabeth and Hermione would intervene and judo flip both of them into unconsciousness and talk about how they're both best friends with idiots," Beca says, grinning when Aran leans forward to high five her from across the table. She happily obliges. "Hermione and Annabeth would win."

"Yes! Girl power!" Sarah cheers. Luisa and Hana nod, agreeing with Beca, and Finn and Jasper, aiming to stay out of this, agree with the girls. Beca smirks at Andrew and Pieter. Both boys let out a sigh and accept defeat, finishing their meals in silence while exchanging glares, still silently arguing. Letting them keep at it as long as they don't involve everyone else, everyone else finishes their food, and Luisa and Finn clear the table and head into the kitchen to do dishes. The girls, not wanting to bother Pieter and Andrew, who are going at it again this time about R2-D2 vs. BB8, head downstairs and sprawl out on the couches. Pretty quickly, Luisa joins them, having finished the dishes extra fast with two people working in there.

They chat aimlessly, until Beca accidentally asks them all about how old they are. Somewhat embarrassed, Beca flushes and retracts the question, but the girls assure her that it's not weird at all, it's weirder if they don't know. As it turns out, all eight DSM core members are the same age. They're all the same age Beca, they're in their senior year of college. Well, just graduated, like Beca. Their ages align since Beca took a gap year and they did not. Their teachers had the eight of them do five years of college, all their education spread out across the years to accommodate better for DSM touring and engagements. Though, Luisa points out that it isn't a school club or anything. It's an official group. _Unlike the Bellas_, hidden in her words.

Since Pieter is scheduled to 'cook' tomorrow, Beca decides to hold off on the run, but suggests that she show DSM around Atlanta a bit, since it's a new city to them. They agree immediately, and immediately start asking Beca about the things they've heard about Atlanta, and all the best places to visit. Laughing, Beca breaks it to them that they're only the cheesy tourist spots. She promises to show them the good sights tomorrow, and they all agree excitedly, sure that the boys will want to tag along as well.

Since dinner was late, the girls leave Beca to herself for the night, which she appreciates. Ever since earlier, the conversation that Luisa, Hana, Jasper, and Andrew had has been echoing in her head. Her family. A _really_ sore subject for her. She doesn't know what to do. She could stick with her story and just assure them that they won't get in trouble. But then that would mean admitting that she understood their conversation. Unless they bring it up. Or she could admit she lied, and reopen the wound with DSM. Which would mean telling them that she lied. To Luisa. The thought makes her feel even more guilty. She doesn't know if she can keep up this guilt, but she also think she can bear to see the look of disappointment on Luisa's face if Beca tells her that she lied. Ugh, it's like she's back in elementary school, when lying was a huge deal. _It's no biggie_, Beca tells herself. _I'll just keep up what I said, and if they bring it up, I'll pretend to call my dad, or just assure them that it's totally fine. Well, that's if I go with them._ Beca changes into sleep shorts and an old t shirt that hangs off her shoulder, and plops on her bed. After a while of staring at her ceiling, studying every dent, hole, pattern, and abnormality, she decides that she will go to Europe with DSM after their tour. She knows that CR is here, and she has the extra apartment, but she doesn't want to have to live there. It feels to intrusive. And CR will probably try to convince her otherwise, but Beca'll know that it isn't fair to her friend. Her internship doesn't matter, she can get a job in Europe. She'll just tell DSM she has family friends that moved here. Yeah, and she can live with her grandparents, since they're in Germany. Yup. Sounds like a plan.

But somehow, Beca isn't quite happy with her plan. I mean, it has a pretty high percent chance of success, unless DSM or Luisa manage to wear her down and find out the truth, but it doesn't feel right. She wishes she could stay with DSM, but she knows that they don't want her tagging along everywhere like a lost puppy. Even they'll get tired of her eventually, as much as they try to deny it and convince her that she's not a pain. So she'll do it. She'll move to Europe. It'll be nice seeing her European family more often, since she hasn't seen any of them in a while.

The next morning, Beca wakes up, throws on skinny jeans and a t shirt, and heads upstairs, where surprisingly, most of DSM are already up and milling around the main floor. Beca waves to them as she emerges from the doorway to the downstairs, and Aran goes over to her. "Good morning Beca. Sleep well?"

"Yup. You?" Aran nods, and Luisa and Pieter join them.

"_Hallo, maus_. DSM is clearly very excited for your promised tour," Luisa notes. "There are many people whom I don't think I have ever seen up this early." Beca smiles, and Pieter rises to defend himself.

"I am just very excited to get out of the house," he says defensively. "I have been in here for all of two days, and I am getting claustrophobic."

"You don't get claustrophobic, Pieter," Luisa says, more of a statement then a question. "You always say that you love staying in one place all day."

"That's just called being lazy," Beca quips. Pieter rolls his eyes, especially when Aran and Luisa high five the brunette.

"She's still my favorite," he says, shrugging at them. They all laugh, and the final members of DSM come downstairs, and they're off.

Beca is in front of the group, but the entire group is almost surrounding her, and Beca smiles slightly, really feeling like part of the group, as cheesy as it is. They start off with breakfast, Beca intentionally but discreetly picking a place that has good food for not much money to be easy on Pieter's wallet. It also has actual authentic international cuisine, and she smiles when many of the Germans order from the Germany section of the menu. Beca follows them, she loves German food, she still misses it from when she spent time there with her family. If anyone is curious about it, no one mentions anything. They all seem very happy when their waiter speaks to them in jovial German, and they respond happily in kind. Beca, though fully fluent and understanding, speaks in English as to not raise any questions or suspicion. She comes here fairly often, and normally when she does she speaks in some European language, but if the waiter is confused he doesn't show it, he just grins and heads off to the kitchen to get their food.

Once they get their food, many DSM members fall into silence as they eat, almost moaning at the real taste of their home. "This is a fantastic place, _maus_," Luisa compliments between bites. "However did you find this place?"

"Um, heard about through a friend's boyfriend. One of the Bellas was dating a senior, and he showed her this place since he's Indian and she's Japanese, and she showed it to us, and we all loved it."

"Interesting," Luisa comments. "Well, I'm glad they showed it to you. Everyone seems to be enjoying it very much."

"Don't deny that you aren't either," Pieter adds, smirking at his Kommissar. Luisa holds up her hands.

"I never said I wasn't as well. I was just stating an observation."

"I reiterate: You're boring," Andrew quips, making everyone else laugh. Luisa rolls her eyes, but can't help the tiny smile that appears on her face at seeing Beca laugh along with her best friends. She gets that giddy feeling of happiness when things just feel right for once. Like, for instance, Beca right next to her, and her best friends surrounding them, all laughing and smiling without a care in the world The only thing that could make this better would be if her hand was tightly laced with Beca's, but she sadly reminds herself that that would just make everything awkward. No, right now, she has to settle for being there for her as a friend and confidante, until or unless Beca wants or needs more. As miserable as it might make her, she has to let the ex-Bella set her boundaries, which she will abide by even if it hurts her.

They spend the entire morning walking around Atlanta, Beca showing them her favorite places. Some of her favorite hangouts, clubs, restaurants, the library, some cool things to do, and lastly, Barden University. The campus is still garishly decorated in honor of the recent graduates, including Beca, but she takes them on a mini-tour, hoping against hope that they don't run into any Bellas. But, when Beca shows them the music and arts wing, they turn a corner to find Chloe, Amy, Cynthia Rose, and Emily. Beca automatically winces and Luisa notices, and recognizes the other Bellas. She makes a move to try and escape the other ladies' notice, but Emily spots them and points over at them, whispering something to Chloe.

The redhead in the lead, they stride over to face Beca and DSM, Luisa, Andrew, and Pieter quickly stepping forward to stand next to the short brunette. "So, fraternizing with the enemy now, are we?" Chloe sneers. "I knew you had a thing for them, but I never thought you'd stoop so low as to join them." Beca narrows her eyes. Chloe doesn't know shit.

"Yeah, what ever happened to good loyalty?" Emily jeers, clearly trying too hard to stay on Chloe's good side.

"Yeah, short stack. I didn't think you'd go that far," Amy says, frowning. "That's a really big no-no. You're lucky I won't make you wrestle any dingoes for that."

"It's even worse than when you were Treble-boned. Do you just have a thing for sneaking around with the enemy?" Chloe asks, stepping closer to try and intimidate Beca. It doesn't work, and Pieter steps forwards as well, a threatening look in his eyes, and Chloe steps back on instinct. "Seriously, Beca. You're on thin ice. Joining them wasn't a good idea. That's just dirty. I never thought you'd be the type to do something like this," Chloe says, and Beca can feel the contempt in her words. Then, she gets mad. She doesn't care if Chloe want to rip her apart, but she shouldn't involve DSM in this. They wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for her.

"I didn't join them," Beca snaps. DSM immediately wilt slightly behind her, and Beca can feel it, which tears at her. But she's not done. "But I should. They've been more of a family to me than you guys. And I don't fucking care of you think that I'm a traitor. I'd rather be a traitor and be hanging out with these guys than be back with you bitches. I seriously hope the next time I have to see you guys is Worlds, only because DSM is going to crush you," Beca snaps, venom filling her voice as she defends her friends.

Luisa stifles a smile as Beca defends them so much. She was a bit worried that next time Beca ran into the Bellas, there'd be a cheesy, cliche I'm sorry reunion, but the redhead ended that. She's just glad Beca trusts them and cares enough to defend them against her former teammate. She likes that she described them as a family, including Beca, and she could tell the others did as well, though Luisa secretly hopes that that doesn't completely apply to her.

Beca lets her gaze slide over to Cynthia Rose, who gives her a hardly visible nod. Her eyes are soft, letting Beca know that she's sorry for everything they're saying, and Beca returns in kind, signalling that she doesn't mean any of it for her. To slightly lighten the mood, CR lets her eyes flick over to Luisa, who's standing closely and protectively over Beca and flashes the DJ and wink and a thumbs up. Beca resists the urge to roll her eyes at her friend, but she shoots playful daggers at her. Luckily, Chloe and the other Bellas think that they're real.

As quickly as Beca was to defend them, Pieter steps forwards to help them all out of this. "Now, I would advise you leave," Pieter says.

"Yeah, we don't take well to people insulting our family," Aran snaps.

"_Auf wiedersehen_, Bellas," Luisa finishes patronizingly, and they all turn on their heels and walk away, leaving a few fuming Bellas and one secretly amused Cynthia Rose behind them. Feeling the Bellas' eyes on her as they walk away, Beca holds up her fist, extending her middle finger to them as they turn the corner, making many DSM people snort in amusement. They make their way out to a courtyard, and Beca collapses onto a bench. Aran, Hana, and Luisa sandwich the brunette on the bench while the guys stand in front of them, all sporting slightly concerned expressions.

"That...that actually felt kinda good," Beca says finally. Having broken the tension, DSM let smiles grace their faces, and Luisa places her hand comfortingly on Beca's knee. Beca blushes slightly at the contact.

"I'm glad. It would be much more quiet over dinner if it hadn't," Luisa says, earning a small giggle from Beca, which makes the taller blonde internally melt at the small, adorable sound.

"Um, did you guys mean what you said?" Beca asks quietly. "About me being...part of your family?"

"Our family," Hana corrects.

"Of course we did," Pieter says in a moment of seriousness. "You are a part of our group now, whether you like it or not." Beca smiles softly, and, sensing the right time, Sarah pulls everyone into a large group hug.

"Wow, thanks guys. Now, let's blow this place," Beca says. All of them look confused at the slang, and Beca grins. "I meant let's get out of here."

"Ah. Sounds like a plan, _maus_," Luisa says.

"Congrats, you got the idiom right," Beca says in a monotone as they leave campus, making everyone laugh.

"Well, at least I do better with American phrases than these two," Luisa says, slightly proudly as she jerks her thumb towards Andrew and Pieter, who both let out an indignant _Hey!_ Beca just laughs as she shows them around downtown, stopping by a cafe for a light snack to hold them off until dinner.

**A/N: Whew! Hopefully I did the Bellas justice. Or, well, as much as I can in this situation... hopefully it was ok. Next chapter, DSM is going back on tour! Finally! Thank y'all so so much for all the amazing reviews and ideas! Can't wait for Chapter 7! - Facade Contessa**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm alive! Sorry if this chapter is a bit late, school shit sucks. Chapter 7!**

In what seemed like seconds to Beca, DSM is standing in the living room, suitcases scattered around, the Airbnb clean and spotless, devoid of all black mesh and leather. A week went by impossibly fast, and they're off to their next tour date. They only have another month of touring, then a few more months until Worlds, which is hopefully enough time to create a set and fully choreograph it to perfection. And that's excluding the millions of hours working and perfecting the routines. But Beca can't stop herself from being excited for everything. DSM have a few different sets that they sort of rotate between for the tour, but they still have at least a few practices before each performance, if only to keep the team in shape for all their shows.

Beca has her own bag up from the basement and ready to go, her mixing equipment packed away so it's safe. She only has two bags, one of clothes and her equipment, and another with a bunch of other belongings, like books, her laptop, and a few sentimental objects. Her Bella scarf, for instance. She can hardly look at it, but she can't bring herself to get rid of it.

Das Sound Machine's next tour location is Tacoma, Washington, though their reserved hotel is in downtown Seattle. They get to the airport very quickly, and meet up with the rest of the group. Beca's eyes immediately widen. It's like, 20 to 30 more people all dressed in black. Damn, that's intimidating. Luisa catches her eyes and smiles, encouraging her to not buy into the air of superiority that they extrude. They go through security at the usual glacial pace, but eventually they're on their way to their gate. They managed to convince their sponsors and managers back in Germany to accommodate for Beca for at least the remainder of their trip and the flight to Germany. Beca told them her plan, that she has old family friends that live in Germany and she can live with them for a bit. She could tell that none of them believe her (she heard as much in German quietly later), but she also knows that they don't want to push her. She's grateful for it, but it's made an invisible barrier between them, preventing them from fully connecting. It hurts Beca to lie to them like this, but she...she just can't open that wound yet.

They board the plane, and DSM's seats are all in a clump towards the front of the plane. The core members had reserved three rows, and Beca just has the free seat. Beca finds her seat, she's in the corner of the "L" shape their seats are making. Hana is in between her and Jasper, and Andrew, Finn, and Sarah are behind them. Pieter, Aran, and Luisa are across the aisle from Beca's row, with Luisa placed in the aisle seat so she can use the Kommissar to make sure everyone behaves. Everyone else is grouped around them, arguing about switching seats so they can sit with their friends withing the group. As soon as she's seated, Beca pulls out her headphones and plugs them into her phone. She finds her airplane mix, a nice long playlist of songs, and sets it on shuffle, leaning back and staring out the window as everyone else files on. She can faintly hear Hana and Jasper conversing in German next to her, the flight attendants' instructions and the captain's speech, and Luisa scolding Pieter in annoyed German not to use the barf bags for origami. "You don't even know origami!" Luisa exclaims in annoyance. Once everyone is seated and everything is set, the flight attendants give the safety speech and the lights dim, then they pull out of the gate, taxiing down the runway. Beca lets out a breath and leans deeper into her seat as she turns up the volume, successfully muting everything else around her. Allowing her eyes flutter closed, she lets herself get absorbed in the bass pounding from her headphones. She vaguely registers the momentary feeling of weightlessness when the plane takes off, and lets her mind enter a slightly dream-like state absorbing but not registering or thinking about what happens around her. As the plane rises and flies away from Atlanta, She randomly feels tingles on the side of her face, like someone's looking at her, but it fades almost as suddenly as it appeared, so Beca doesn't make anything of it. It was probably just Hana looking over to make sure she's ok.

Once they take off, Luisa can't help herself from looking over at Beca, just to make sure she's not regretting or rethinking her decision. If she told Pieter, he'd say she's being paranoid, but she can't help it. She never wants the little mouse to feel bad, guilty, or upset. She also doesn't want her to leave. But when she looks over, the brunette DJ looks...peaceful. Happy. She seems completely at ease, absorbed in whatever she's listening to. The corner of her mouth lifts slightly, smiling at something, and Luisa can't believe how adorable it looks. Realizing that she's been staring, she quickly whips her head back to look down at her phone, which is projecting an image of their hotel address. Sighing softly, she switches it to music, puts on her own headphones, and follows Beca's lead, letting her mind get wrapped up in the song.

Fairly quickly, most of DSM are asleep, with a few listening to music or reading, since most of them are used to long flights by now. The flight is uneventful, and they eventually land at Seattle-Tacoma Airport without hassle. When they touch down, Beca snaps out of her world, and pauses her song, letting her headphones fall around her neck as they taxi over to their gate, and people begin to unbuckle and stand. She gently shakes Hana awake, and they all lazily file off the plane. After retrieving the cars that their sponsors rented for them, they all divide up to meet back at their hotel. The core 8, once again, are living together in a penthouse suite, and all of them insist that Beca can crash with them, instead of paying for her own room. So, she has the couch while the others are split up between the bedrooms.

Anxious to stretch their legs after the plane ride, Luisa gives DSM the day off to relax before picking up practice tomorrow for their show. With their day off, they decide to explore Seattle a bit; visiting the classic tourist sites like the Space Needle and Pike's Place Market. Since there are Starbucks literally on every block, they stop for coffee and snacks; Beca insisting upon paying and not taking no for an answer. They're letting her live off of them for about a month, the least she can do is buy coffee and cookies.

"Ok, what do you guys want?" Beca asks, stepping up to the counter. Everyone quickly places their orders, and Beca mentally jots down what Luisa orders. Stop it! She scolds herself. Don't be creepy. Beca feels a bit awkward, since she's in a group with a bunch of giant intimidating Germans, but she converses with the barista and finishes paying, and they move off to the side to wait for their snacks. Once their food is ready, Pieter darts forward before anyone else has the chance to move, snagging the paper bags of sugary cookies. He takes one out and takes a large bite, Finn making a noise of protest as that was the cookie he picked out. "These are very hard," Pieter comments, dropping the cookie back in the bag and handing it to Finn, which flashes him a glare.

"What did you expect? It's a commercial coffee chain," Beca deadpans. She shrugs. "It's not known for food anyway. And everything pales in comparison to European bakeries anyways." Luisa lifts an eyebrow as Pieter hands her her own cookie.

"Have you been to Europe, kleine maus?" Beca realizes her mistake and looks at her feet as Pieter hands her a chocolate chip cookie.

"I went on a family trip once," she says, slightly more quietly. She regains her confident tone and continues. "The pastries there are amazing. And there are some good foreign bakeries around the US, so I've been to some in Atlanta."

"And Ohio?" Hana asks. Beca colors slightly and nods.

"Yeah, and Ohio."

Their coffees are soon ready, and they all head over to the counter. They grab their respective drinks, and Luisa notices Beca hold her breath slightly as they take test sips. "Are the coffees ok?" Beca asks, slightly nervously. She wants to make a good impression, being the only American to represent in a group of Germans.

Luisa finds it amusing and endearing how Beca strives to repay everything and make up for everything, or how she constantly needs confirmation on what she's doing. The blonde knows that it's because she doesn't fully know everything about DSM yet and she doesn't want to make a mistake, which she can understand, but she wishes Beca would relax a tiny bit. It's weird, coming from her, but Beca has been doing everything perfectly anyways, so she really doesn't have to worry. Luisa has a nagging suspicion that Beca wants to be perfect so they don't leave her, but she should know by now that they would never just abandon her.

"It's great," Aran assures her.

"Not the best I've ever had, but not too bad," Pieter says. Beca snorts.

"Again, it's a commercial coffee chain. You can't expect European quality coffee." (A/N: No offense to Starbucks) Pieter shrugs.

"Fair enough."

Now armed with caffeine and sugar, they take to the streets again, just wandering around, occasionally darting into a store or building here and there, and talking. Beca is grateful for the opportunity to continue to get to know DSM better; though she's practically known them for years by now with all the talking and getting to know each other they've done.

The next day, Luisa rouses everyone bright and early. There's a pre-show routine that they have to do, spanning a few days. Today, it's exercise and fitness, tomorrow is running through choreography down to a T, and then it's vocal tuning, and finishing with the fourth day of putting it all together. Even though Beca technically isn't a part of DSM, Luisa offers for her to join them, at least for today. She doubts Beca is used to the level that they work at, they are known for being hardcore and tough, but Beca readily agrees and meets them all on time, bright and early, down at their rented space.

They break up into stations, with Pieter, Luisa, Andrew, and Finn leading each one. Beca, since she doesn't really know many people, sticks with Hana, Aran, and Sarah, who choose to do Finn's station first.

Luisa watches as Beca laughs with Hana, Aran, and Sarah as they head over to their first station. She lets her eyes momentarily trail down the woman's figure, and she whistles appreciatively in her head. Her navy tank top hugs her curves perfectly, and her black exercise shorts show off smooth, pale legs, giving the illusion that they go on forever, though they most surely don't. She smiles to herself, and then focuses on the group in front of her, slipping into Kommissar mode for the day.

At the end of the day, Beca feels hot, sweaty, and tired, but really good. She loves a good workout. And the gaping stares and dropped jaws that DSM gave her when they saw she was perfectly capable of keeping up with their workouts were just icing on the cake. They think they're so tough; they should try a one-on-one session with one Aubrey Posen. Once she and Beca buried the hatchet, the two were close, especially due to their similarities; loving control, hard-working, determined, stubborn. Both of them actually like to do the workouts (Yes, including the cardio), so Aubrey, with her military-like childhood and army father, did a one-on-one boot camp-like thing with Beca. And if Beca's being perfectly honest, it was harder than DSM's fitness regimen.

Aran, Sarah, and Hana catch up to Beca, who's taking a long sip from her water bottle. "Dang girl, nice job on the workout," Aran says, high fiving her once they get close enough.

"Thanks," Beca says, slightly breathlessly.

"Do you work out like that often?" Hana asks. Beca shrugs.

"Well, I like to work out. I've done workouts like that on my own before, sure. And when I was in the Bellas, the old captain, Aubrey, her dad was in the Army, so she and I did military-style workouts a lot."

"That's cool. Just don't teach those to Luisa. The ones we do now are hard enough," Sarah warns. Beca just chuckles to herself as she takes another long drink of water, the other girls following her example. Luisa, after finishing up a chat with Pieter, joins them, said male following the blonde.

"Good work today everyone," Luisa says, slightly out of breath herself. "I'm impressed, mauschen. We didn't know you had that in you, with you being so tiny and all," Luisa teases, looking at Beca who simply snorts and rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks. But I'm used to these kinds of workouts."

"The Barden Bellas did training like this?" Pieter asks doubtfully.

"Nope. Our old captain when I was a freshman did them with me. Her dad was in the Army, so she and I did a lot of that. She said it was good practice for being a captain. I kinda miss her though, she always pushed me to be better," Beca explains, slightly wistfully. Aubrey wasn't one of the bitches who kicked her out, so she doesn't feel guilty about missing the bossy blonde. Now Beca's wondering if she still has Aubrey's number…maybe she can give Beca some advice.

"I'm sorry, kleine maus. We did not mean to bring it up," Luisa says softly, placing her hand on the brunette's shoulder. Beca shakes her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts.

"No, it's totally fine. It's nothing. Now, I think everyone here could use a shower," Beca says, making everyone laugh at the subject change. Andrew strides over with Finn and Jasper and leans his arm against Beca's shoulder. Luisa stares at his arm. She doesn't want it there. No, the maus can do whatever she wishes, Luisa reminds herself. Beca coughs and pulls away. "Yep. Definitely showers," she coughs out, and everyone laughs. Andrew looks very happy with himself too as they all make their way towards the elevator back to their room. Beca all but shoves the blonde beatboxer towards his bathroom while she quickly calls dibs on the second shower.

She gets in and out quickly, changing into dark navy sweats and a light gray tank top. Pulling her hair into a bun, she relaxes on the couch as the others argue over shower orders. Retrieving her phone, she checks up on Cynthia Rose's profile, which only has a few new pictures and posts. Chloe's probably working them extra hard, Beca figures. Then, Luisa and Andrew join her in the living room, and all thoughts of the Bellas escape Becas mind. Luisa is wearing a thin, off-the shoulder black t shirt, and stretchy leggings. And damn, Beca has to remind herself multiple times not to stare. She can't help it though, and Luisa flashes her a smirk, making the shorter girl's face flame. She quickly averts her eyes, missing the way Luisa scanned over her own outfit.

Andrew, happily oblivious (Or pretending not to notice both women), plops down right next to Beca, his arm coming down over her shoulders. Her also intentionally misses the way Luisa's eyes narrow at him as she sits down on Beca's other side, albeit not as close. She, unlike Andrew, has respect for the brunette's boundaries. Though she's restraining herself from moving Andrew's arm off of Beca. It definitely bothers her that he's touching the DJ like that. She should be the one doing that.

Once the rest of DSM is showered and dressed, Pieter asks them all what they want for dinner, and they quickly agree on pizza. What kind of pizza though, is a completely different story.

"I want olives and sausage," Andrew says. Aran groans.

"We have that literally every time we have pizza," she retorts. "I want cheese."

"But's that's so boring!" Sarah complains.

"Chicken and artichoke?" Hana suggests. Finn makes a noise of disgust.

"Artichoke doesn't belong on pizza," he states, as though it were obvious. "I vote anchovies."

"EWW!" everyone else exclaims at once.

"No way," Beca says. "Anchovies are disgusting. Don't ruin pizza with them."

"I agree with the mouse," Jasper says.

"Is everyone just calling me that now?" Beca groans.

"Don't worry, mauschen, we call him Giraffe," she says, nodding towards Pieter.

"Is it just me, or does Luisa say 'Don't worry, mauschen' almost every day?" Andrew wonders aloud.

"We're really off topic," Sarah notes.

"Oh yeah, I vote for Hawaiian," Beca says.

"Me too!" Sarah says. Pieter sighs.

"Oh no, what are you going to do?" Andrew teases him. "You and the mouse finally disagree on something."

"I have to say, pineapple on pizza is a food crime," Pieter says sadly. "But rest assured you're still my favorite."

"Ok, pineapple on pizza is delicious. It's like dinner and dessert," Beca counters.

"No, dessert should always be separate from dinner. It just doesn't work," Pieter insists. Beca rolls her eyes and is about to argue when Luisa lets loose a piercing two-fingered whistle. Everyone silences, and glares at her as they uncover their ears. She clears her throat, and everyone stops.

"We're getting a Margherita, a sausage and mushroom, and a Hawaiian, and I don't want to hear any complaints," she says, her tone authoritative, and a few people grumble that their favorite wasn't on the list, but lean back in their seats at Pieter places the order. She smiles, satisfied, and leans back.

"You only ordered Hawaiian because the mouse likes it," Pieter accuses under his breath as he rejoins the group once the order has been placed. Luisa raises an eyebrow, as if to say so what? and Beca grins smugly. She flashes him a grin, and he huffs as he falls down onto an armchair.

"Maybe I did," Luisa replies airily. "Do you have something to say about it?" she challenges. Pieter only grumbles something unintelligible in response, causing Beca to chuckle. He flashes her a look, but she ignores it.

The pizza arrives quickly and Pieter heads downstairs to pick it up while the others set the table and sit down. Luisa warns them not to cheer when Pieter arrives, or else his ego will get even bigger, and Beca snorts at that. When he gets back, they dig into the food excitedly, Pieter even allowing himself to be goaded into trying a piece of Hawaiian. He takes a bite and chews it thoughtfully, then makes a face and sets the slice down. "We will just have to agree to disagree, tiny mouse." Beca shrugs, fine with that, and steals his slice for herself.

After dinner, they all choose to go to sleep early, since they have a few days of really hard work and whipping into shape ahead of them. Once everyone leaves for their rooms, Beca unfolds the couch, and sets up the blankets on pillows to turn it into a bed. Then, she takes out her laptop, and logs online, playing some soft music through her headphones while she opens up her and CR's chat.

She, unintentionally, writes a super long email to her, detailing everything she can about what's happening. The only thing she leaves out are her feelings for Luisa. She doesn't need teasing about it, or Luisa to somehow stumble upon the email. She also really doesn't want CR to try and get involved. That would only end in disaster. She hovers over the send button, the time zones are different now, but she clicks send, and then leans back against the couch cushions, letting the soft piano music fill her ears. After a minute or so, she sits up again and opens up her music app. If she's with DSM, she might as well do something useful. The first real step though, since she doesn't have access to substantial equipment for a full-blown remix, is pick two or more songs to mash up. So, it's off into her music library she goes.

Anyone else would think that she has a problem, or at least be daunted by the vast expanse of Beca's music library, but it's surprisingly well-organized, at least in her opinion. All her playlists are accurately or at least reasonably named, and she has a lot of folders and sections. Already knowing which genres not to go into, namely country, Latin, pop, and the like. Starting in the classic rock section, she browses diligently through songs, looking for anything with a good solid beat that DSM might consider. She knows classic rock is a bit of a stretch, but she has to narrow it down.

After she doesn't find anything in classic rock, she moves on to pop rock. She decides that it's a little too poppy for DSM, and switches to alternative rock. She feels tingles in her hand, letting her know that she's getting closer, when her eyelids start to droop. She feels the edges of sleep tickle at her mind, so she unplugs her headphones and sets her laptop aside, though she had wanted to keep working. It felt like she was so close. But, she mentally jots down to finish the alternative rock section. She might find a few songs there that would work well together. She stares at the ceiling, attempting to fall asleep, annoyed that as soon as she put her stuff away, she wasn't tired anymore. She sits up slightly when she hears footsteps coming towards her.

"Why are you still awake, little mouse?" a soft voice says. Beca looks over and her face immediately flames. It's Luisa, and of course Beca had to notice how sexy she looks in her night clothes. Loose shorts and a tank top that hangs oh-so-perfectly off her shoulder, revealing smooth, pale skin. Beca forces herself not to stare, and Luisa walks over. "Do you mind?" she asks quietly, gesturing to the edge of the couch/bed.

"What? Oh, um, no," Beca mumbles, trying to look anywhere but the blonde, who luckily hasn't noticed Beca's discomfort yet. "Why are you awake? Don't you have a team to whip into shape tomorrow?" she asks, in the same quiet tone Luisa used. Luisa chuckles softly under her breath.

"Do not think you can avoid my question by repeating it back to me. But I was just up to get some water." And to check on you, she thinks. But Beca doesn't need to know that. She also doesn't need to know how amazing her hair looks loose and in rag curls around her shoulders. "Now, why are you not asleep?"

Beca shrugs, hiding her face behind her hair slightly to hide her stare. "Couldn't sleep. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff. New songs to mix."

"I'm sure you will have no trouble finding some," Luisa assures her, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder. "You have a talent." Now, Beca is hiding behind her hair to hide her blush.

"Thanks. But I was sorta trying to find something that was more you guys' style. Just to be possibly useful." Luisa smiles at her.

"You don't have to if you do not want to, mauschen. You know that we would love to hear whatever you did, no matter the genre, but danke for trying to make something for us. I...we all understand that your traditional sound if very different from ours, but I think both of us, or at least DSM, could do with a little bit of change, ja?" Beca nods, glad that Luisa understands her train of thought.

"Thanks. That...that really helps. That's not going to stop me from trying to combine our styles, or at least come up with something in your lane though," Beca says, trying to lighten the air a bit. It works, and Luisa chuckles, the sound light and melodic to Beca. The DJ wishes she heard it more often. She offers a small smile as Luisa examines her expression.

"I had no doubt you would," Luisa says honestly. "And I have no doubt you will succeed."

"Because I'm awesome?" Beca offers.

"Because you are a stubborn kleine maus," Luisa jokes. "And you will not rest until you find something. But maybe that too," she adds upon seeing Beca's absolutely adorable fake pout. The brunette brightens, and the blonde smiles. "Now, we both should sleep. DSM has a full day of practice ahead, and I don't doubt you will find an active and productive way to spend the next few days." Beca nods, agreeing with her logic, though partially not wanting the blonde to leave.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she says. "Night, Luisa." Luisa stands and Beca slides further under the covers, tucking herself in. Luisa watches her for a second. Subconsciously, she reaches out, and caresses Beca's jawline with her fingers. It's ever-so-light, she can hardly feel the brunette's cheek under her fingertips. Snapping herself out of it, she shakes her head and walks back to her room. You really have to stop doing this to yourself, Luisa.

Once she hears the door close, Beca's eyes snap open. Did Luisa…? No, she couldn't have...I mean, why would she? But as she closes her eyes again and begins to drift towards unconsciousness, Beca swears she felt something along her jaw. She tries to convince herself that it was hair, but she can't shake the nagging feeling that it wasn't. There's a part of her that thinks it might have been Luisa, but that'd be crazy. Throwing the train of thought to the far reaches of her brain, she sinks into the pillow, thinking now about things to do tomorrow, completely unaware that a few meters away, behind a closed door, someone can't get her off of their mind.

**A/N: Ok, thank y'all so much for the amazing reviews! I hope this moved the story along, I hate filler chapters, but alas, they're sometimes inevitable. A few people have reviewed and suggested that I bring Aubrey into the picture and have her confront the Bellas, and I think that's an amazing idea! (Y'all know who you are) I'm really excited for a Bella chapter, and even I can't wait to find out how Aubrey reacts to Beca getting kicked out! All will be revealed next chapter! And I really hope I can do it soon! - Facade Contessa**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ok, super sorry about the late update, this was a slow chapter, and with school (-_-) and Thanksgiving, I was super busy. Anyways, here's the chapter! Let's see how the Bellas are doing without Beca! (Sorry if Aubrey is really OOC, I tried.)**

Ever since Beca got kicked out, the Bella house has spiralled into disaster. Cynthia Rose, likely the sanest one out of all of them, is partly shocked at how immature and ridiculous at how the other Bellas are acting, and part impressed at the amazing impact Beca had on the group. She misses the short brunette a lot, but the Bellas are still her family. And besides, Beca is happy with DSM. Maybe they're the change of pace that she needs.

The Bellas definitely don't recognize this, and now all they can do is argue and squabble, over anything from choreography ideas and songs suggestions for Worlds to who's turn it is to do the dishes. It's all so stupid, and Cynthia Rose would have left long ago if these bitches weren't her closest friends. At least she has some relaxation and peace in the form of her girlfriend. They actually got together a while ago, but with the whole Worlds drama, and Beca getting kicked off, she just hasn't mentioned it. Cynthia Rose treasures the moments where she can escape the drama of the Bella house and relax or do something fun with Riley. Chloe is stricter and more old-Aubrey-esque than ever, which makes it harder for her to sneak away, but she manages. Fairly easily, in fact, since her room has a perfect way out through the window, and it's also closest to the back door. Which is exactly how Cynthia Rose escapes tonight, since the Bellas are especially loud today, fighting about Legacy's song that she's still writing. The dark-skinned girl rolls her eyes. Unbelievable.

Slipping out the back door, she tugs her jacket closed around her as she heads out to the street, and makes her way to her and Riley's meeting spot: a romantic bench in a public garden. Conveniently, it's close to Bella house, and Riley's dorm, since she lives on campus. Occasionally, CR will spend the night on campus if she and Riley are doing something that ends up going late.

She makes her way to the bench and sits down, leaning back as she checks her phone to text Riley. "Hey, you," an amused voice says from behind her.

"Hey yourself," Cynthia Rose says, turning around to face Riley. She stands and they share a quick, tender kiss before sitting down again, this time with joined hands. It's a stark contrast, the pale white of Riley's skin against the dark brown of Cynthia Rose's, but it works. Just like them. Riley leans her head on Cynthia Rose's shoulder, and CR smiles, brushing the light brown, curly hair out of the other girl's face. "You wanna watch a movie in my dorm?"

"Duh. Bellas still going bat-shit crazy?"

"Yeah." Riley knows that Cynthia Rose likes to watch movies when she needs to unwind, and she figures it's about the Bella drama. She's glad she's not a part of that, but she'll gladly help Cynthia Rose through it, including with her friend getting kicked out and everything. "Here, let's go." Hands still intertwined, they make their way onto Barden campus, and to Cynthia' Roses assigned dorm, and they set up her laptop with the _Princess Bride_, a classic and generally amazing movie.

The two ladies leans up against the wall, in a similar position as before, holding hands, with Riley's head on Cynthia Rose's shoulder. Cynthia Rose takes this opportunity to just let her mind clear, watch and movie, and focus on being with Riley, instead of whatever the Bellas are doing. She has one last thought before she puts the Bellas out of her mind: _I really hope Aubrey doesn't find out._

The next day, after a suitable lecture from Chloe about sneaking out, Cynthia Rose sits down with the other girls around the dining table. Chloe called a Bella meeting, so she has to be here, though she'd rather be upstairs reading the long and informative email that Beca just sent her. Even if she isn't saying it outright, Cynthia Rose can tell that the shortie totally has a toner for tall, blonde, and German. It's really obvious, and Cynthia Rose knows how to read between the lines. The only sad thing is that she doubts Beca will do anything about it unless she grows a pair. The dark-skinned girl has a feeling that Kommissar-Luisa also likes Beca, but then again, Cynthia Rose hasn't seen her since the riff-off, and she'd be too proud to admit it, or at least not want to pressure the tiny DJ or make Beca feel awkward in any way. Ah, young love.

She brings her attention back to Chloe, who's banging the table with a gavel to get everyone's attention. _Where the fuck did Red get a gavel?_ She thinks as everyone else quiets down. "Ok, we're here to talk about Worlds," Chloe starts, and Cynthia Rose internally groans. There's no way this could end well. "We need a set list ASAP so we can choreograph and perfect it. Does anyone have any song suggestions?" she asks in an authoritative tone. She's really taking Aubrey to the next level.

"Ooh, how about _Whistle _by Flo Rida?" Amy suggests. Stacie nods in agreement, and Cynthia Rose almost face palms. Chloe, on the other hand, is already turning red, ironically.

"NO! Have you not forgotten the basic traditions of the Bellas? Songs sung and or made popular by _women_. And we're not doing a song that...suggestive at Worlds! We're representing America, here. We need to be professional." She looks at Amy significantly, and the blonde huffs and leans back in her seat.

"Well, I have my original song-" Emily starts in a quiet voice.

"Emily! Smart people are talking here!" Amy exclaims, interrupting her. "You're new, you're not supposed to know anything, so it's ok. But let us talk." Not wanting to cross Amy, Emily nods, and shuts up.

"_We could just kill the judges in their sleep,_" Lilly whispers. Chloe stares at her in confusion for a second before shaking her head.

"Whatever. Now, any _serious_ suggestions?"

Multiple Bellas, including Jessica and Ashley, throw out ideas, and Chloe writes select songs down on her notepad. After she lists down about 20 or so songs, Chloe stops them. "Ok. We'll need to pick maybe three of these songs. But first, we also need to cover roles. Flo, you're on choreo, Stacie, you get costumes, and Cynthia Rose, you get special effects and props. Flo, you get Jessica and Ashley for assistants, and Stacie, take Legacy so she doesn't get in the way and screw stuff up. Lilly can help you, Cynthia Rose, and I'm going to focus on the arrangements."

"Are you replacing Beca?" Ashley asks, then immediately regrets it.

"Maybe!" Chloe splutters. "I know her best! I can do it!" she defends, the topic of Beca clearly being a sore spot.

"But Beca is probably helping that sexy blonde German with their arrangements," Emily says, not knowing when to shut up. "She'll probably up her game to match them and impress the blonde." Chloe's face literally turns the color of a tomato, and Cynthia Rose has to restrain her from lunging at Emily.

"We can win without Beca!" Chloe snaps. "And don't ever bring up that stupid German again!" Yes, Cynthia Rose definitely senses a lot of jealousy on Chloe's part about Beca hanging out and spending so much time with the Kommissar, no, Luisa. Cynthia Rose sighs. She'll never get used to that.

After Chloe's outburst, she reigns in her temper and gives each team some parameters for their group. Some specifications for costumes, some ideas and do-not's for lighting/sounds/effects, things like that. As she's about to adjourn the meeting with the magic gavel that just appeared today, there's a knock at the door. Cynthia Rose, eager to be dismissed from the awkward tension that was the remainder of the meeting, jumps up to answer it. She immediately regrets her decision once she opens the door. Because standing there, eyes narrow, arms crossed, is Aubrey Posen.

The brunette's eyes widen, and Aubrey, not even bothering with formalities, struts past her and straight to the dining room, where the rest of the Bellas are still seated. Cynthia Rose follows her, and everyone, including Chloe, is frozen at the sight of the blonde ex-Captain.

"Anyone want to guess what I just saw?" Aubrey snaps. Smartly, no one answers her. She holds up her phone, displaying Beca's latest post of her and DSM. "Someone explain what the fuck is happening. Now." Her tone is deadly calm, and Cynthia Rose, hoping she isn't risking her safety, speaks up.

"Beca isn't a Bella anymore," she says, wincing at how it sounded. Aubrey turned on her, looking positively murderous. "She's hanging with Das Sound Machine for the rest of their tour."

"Why did Beca get kicked out?" Aubrey seethes. Chloe takes this as her opportunity to convince Aubrey that they're in the right, so she stands.

"Well, she was hooking up with their leader, and she was hiding a music internship from us," Chloe starts. "And she intentionally sabotaged the riff off because she has a huge crush on the DSM lead." As soon as she says them aloud, the weaker and more feeble and stupid they sound. This won't end well. Aubrey narrows her eyes so much they're practically slits, you're hardly able to see her eyes.

"Is that it?" Aubrey asks incredulously. Cynthia Rose internally releases a huge breath. "This is what happens when I leave!" Aubrey exclaims. Everyone can tell she's about to go all bitch mode, so wisely no one speaks. "The one sane person on gets kicked out for something I thought was resolved three years ago! Then everything goes to hell! Someone got a fucking gavel, for God's sake!" She takes a breath, and turns towards the Bellas, who are all shocked. They've never heard Aubrey swear. "Where even is Beca now? Though you all were being absolute bitches, she is not allowed to walk away that easily," Aubrey exclaims. No one answers, and she narrows her eyes even further, if possible, and places her hands on her hips.

"She left with DSM to Seattle," Emily blurts, and all eyes turn to her. Aubrey, somewhat satisfied that some answered her, huffs.

"Of course. That's just perfect. When will she be back?"

"We...we don't know," Chloe admits, looking remotely sorry for the very first time regarding this whole situation.

Aubrey groans. "Of course. Now, your new orders for at _least _tonight: sit in silence and think about what asses you were to a member of our Bella family, and what Beca might be feeling right now!" she orders. When nobody moves, she snaps "Now!" and everyone hurriedly rushes to their room. "Cynthia Rose!" Said girl flinches and turns slowly towards Aubrey. "Come with me." Walking much more calmly than before, she walks to the door and CR follows her, trailing a little ways behind the scary blonde. Beca may be hanging with a scary blonde, but CR has her own here, and Aubrey frankly seems worse. Shifting her attention back to said woman, Cynthia Rose follows her to a private spot, a rarity in the Bella house.

Aubrey sits, and gestures for Cynthia Rose to follow her lead and she does, slightly worried about what would happen if she refused. "Spill." Cynthia Rose looks up at Aubrey, confused.

"What?"

"I know you two were really close. I'm positive you still have some sort of communication with her. I want the real story, not whatever biased shit Chloe's spewing. So tell me," Aubrey orders calmly.

Cynthia Rose sighs, and then tells Aubrey everything. The real (petty) reason why Chloe and the others kicked Beca out. Her and Beca's correspondence. And she tells Aubrey everything that Beca told her in her impressively long emails. And how she, Chloe, Amy, and Emily ran into Beca and DSM, and how mean the other girls were. She ends up talking more then she wanted to, she tells Aubrey how sad she was that Beca left, how angry but helpless she felt as Beca was leaving, and how she wishes Beca were back with them, but also how happy she is that she's making great friends with DSM.

Aubrey listens in silence until Cynthia Rose gets it all out of her and the dark-skinned girl leans back, out of breath. Aubrey smiles slightly, her passion and ranting is amusing; Aubrey can tell how much she cares. Cynthia Rose still seems intimidated, so Aubrey gives her a kind smile, letting the woman relax. "Good. Thank you for telling me," Aubrey says.

Cynthia Rose can't quite tell where Aubrey stands on this whole thing. She seemed pissed at the Bellas, but also seemed disappointed in Beca for leaving like that. She just doesn't know, but she's still a bit too afraid to ask.

"Call Beca," Aubrey says, breaking the tense silence they had fallen into. Cynthia Rose's head snaps up.

"What?"

"Call Beca," Aubrey repeats calmly.

"But, she's in Seattle. The time difference-"

"Is fine. She's three hours earlier than us. I'm positive she's still awake, as it's only...about 9:00 there."

"O-ok." Cynthia Rose pulls out her phone and dials Beca's number. The phone rings a few times before Beca picks up.

"Hey, CR," Beca says sleepily.

"Did I wake you up?" Cynthia Rose asks quickly.

"Nah. Just lying down. Not used to the time difference yet. How are you?"

"Good. I, um, actually have a few things to update you on, but that's not why I called." With the speaker on, the two women can hear sheets rustling, indicating Beca's sitting up in her bed.

"Did something happen?" she asks, worriedly.

"Not exactly," Cynthia Rose says. She nods to Aubrey.

"Hello, Beca," Aubrey says. Cynthia Rose almost chuckles when she _hears_ Beca freeze. It'd be funny if she wasn't quite so worried about what Aubrey's planning to do to the poor girl.

"A-Aubrey," Beca stutters. "U-um, hey?" she tries.

"Rebecca Mitchell, don't you even think about playing that game with me," Aubrey says at Beca's failed attempt at friendly conversation. Cynthia Rose is a bit confused, she didn't know that the two had a dynamic like that, but ok.

Beca sighs. "Hey, Posen. I assume you heard the Bellas shit about what they think happened, huh."

"Yes, yes I did," Aubrey admits. "But lots of things were off, it didn't sound like you. So, I talked to this one and she told me her side. Now I want to hear yours."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Beca admits. Beca then shares the Cliff's Notes version of her side, which is very similar to Cynthia Rose's. "And I'm assuming CR told you something similar," she finishes.

"Yes, she did," Aubrey admits. After a minute of silence, Aubrey speaks up again. "I believe you."

"Wait what?" Beca says, amazed that Aubrey believed her over Chloe. But to be fair, Aubrey was always pretty level-headed when it came to stuff like this.

"I said I believe you. Your stories seem much more accurate and less biased. Plus, I agree with you. The Bellas are being total bitches," Aubrey says.

"Wow. Ok," Beca says, still getting over what she said, especially since Aubrey isn't one to generally curse. Then she seems to sober up. "I'm really sorry for walking away from the Bellas. But...you both know about my family...I just couldn't stay after that," she says softly.

"It's ok, Beca," Cynthia Rose says. "Neither of us blame you."

Beca sniffles, likely wiping a few tears out of her eyes. "It's so cheesy, but I wish I could be right there and give you dudes a hug," she says, half laughing, half crying. Cynthia Rose and Aubrey both chuckle, Beca will always be sarcastic, no matter which coast she's on.

"Don't worry. I'll see you at Worlds at least," Cynthia Rose says, trying to be the optimist for once.

But Beca catches her move. "Don't play the optimist, CR. It's not a good look on you," Beca deadpans, masking her disappointment, since she doesn't think she will be going to Worlds. "I don't even know if I'm going to Worlds," she admits. "I'm staying with DSM for the rest of their US tour at least, then maybe heading out to my grandparent's house in Germany or something, but that doesn't mean I can get out to Denmark."

"You are going to Worlds, Beca Mitchell, even if I have to drive you there myself," Aubrey says, though even she's getting slightly emotional, which is impressive for the military-raised blonde. "I'm going, and I will drag you there with me if DSM don't do it for me."

"Why would they?" Beca asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"From what Cynthia Rose told me, they love you. They won't want to just leave you at home, especially since you're in the same country."

"Yeah, But DSM don't know that I'm going to Germany, or have family there," Beca admits. "I told them that my entire family lives in Ohio."

"Oh Beca, we really need to teach you how to lie better," Cynthia Rose says. "You know it's practically unheard of for an entire family to live in one state, right?"

Beca sighs. "Yeah, I know, but I panicked. I...I couldn't open the wound with them yet. I don;t need their pity."

"I get that, but at least let them get you out to Germany," Aubrey insists. "There's nothing left for you here, so go to where you have at least your grandparents and your new friends."

"Ok, ok. I'll ask. Oh, and by the way, I did a DSM workout today," Beca says, both women able to hear the amusement on her voice.

"And?" Aubrey asks, hoping to hear what she wants to hear.

"Ours were harder," Beca says.

"Yes!" Aubrey cheers. "There. We already beat DSM at one thing. Did you show all of them up? Please say yes."

"Of course," Beca says. "But everyone advised me against telling Luisa and Pieter about our workouts, since they can't handle anything more."

"Ha! That's great," Aubrey says.

"Oh, and by the way, I got your money from Amy. I'll give it to you at Worlds," Cynthia Rose says randomly.

"Oh, perfect. Now, what time is it for you guys? It's like, 12:30. Y'all go to bed. I can call you again another time. And we should set up a group chat or something," Beca says. Both women agree, and then they hang up, Cynthia Rose tucking her phone back in the pocket of her leather jacket.

They sit in silence for a minute before yelling breaks out from the house. Aubrey sighs, and stands up, smoothing her dark skirt. "Well, I'd better handle that. It was really nice talking to you. Please keep me better updated," Aubrey says. "I'm going to leave after this, so it was really nice seeing you."

"Same," Cynthia Rose agrees. She stands as well, and the two exchange a quick hug before Aubrey heads inside to wrangle the Bellas. Cynthia Rose waits outside for a bit, enjoying the cool night air while the house quiets down. She looks up at the dark sky, speckled with hardly visible stars. _Stupid light pollution_, she thinks.

She still can't quite believe Aubrey so easily let Beca off the hook for leaving the Bellas. She seems like the type to be all "Once a Bella, always a Bella", but she was totally understanding to Beca. Maybe too understanding…?

So, she fires off a quick text to Beca, knowing that she isn't asleep already.

**Hey, do you know why Aubrey was so nice about all of this? It doesn't seem like her…**

Beca responds almost immediately, like she assumed. And it's also pretty long, which isn't what Cynthia Rose expected.

_Um, IDK if I'm supposed to tell you this, but during our workouts, we kinda bonded over not the best childhoods. Her dad was rarely around, and when he was, well, you know. And her mom was there, but worked a lot, so she had to be really independent. So, she knows what it's like to have trust issues, especially with family. That's why she was so strict about staying a Bella, and all that. She wanted a constant group to be there for her. And I can't say I didn't appreciate that also, which is why it really hurt when I got kicked out. Sorry if I totally talked your ear off._

**No, it's totally cool. Thanks for telling me, that makes a lot of sense. I'm really sorry about that, again. :(**

_It's ok. Night._

**Night.**

Cynthia Rose turns off her phone, and tucks it in her pocket once more, heading into the now quiet Bella house. She sneaks up to her room, and sheds her jacket and shoes. Slipping into bed, Cynthia Rose prays that everything will turn out ok in the end. Whether that be Beca coming back, or the Bellas disbanding and Cynthia Rose heading to wherever Beca is, maybe with Riley, everything just has to end ok.

**A/N: Whew! That was an ordeal. Sorry if the Bellas are totally OOC, I'm not really a writer, and I didn't create these characters. I really hope I can get a new chapter soon, but shit is crazy. I hope I can get DSM to Germany next chapter, but we'll see. OMG thank y'all for the reviews! A lot of you suggested ideas for Aubrey, and I REALLY hope i did them justice! Until next time! - Facade Contessa**


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